and then we'll spend a little bit of time in the Book of Proverbs this morning. So let's pray. Dear Gracious Father, we thank you so much for your love, for your mercy, and for your grace that you've lavished upon us in your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for this opportunity we have to look into your word. We ask that your spirit would illuminate the meaning of the text, that as we look into this we would See your son Jesus, we would believe in his promises that we would see those areas that we need to improve and by the power of your spirit that as he's working on our hearts that we become more and more like your son Jesus Christ. Just thank you for today, thank you for this opportunity we have to open up your word. We thank you and love you in your son's name, amen. So, the past couple months I've been thinking about how to communicate in different cultures, not only just dealing with me going to India, but recently I was asked to give a lecture at a Bible College in Africa, and I was trying to think through some of those issues and trying to think of, I need to say things that are biblical, not necessarily say things that are cultural, and I realized, and if you've ever been translated, you say a sentence, someone translates your sentence, you say a sentence. You realize quickly that there are certain things that just do not work in translation. They just don't work. For example, we have a lot of sayings in the United States that if you translate literally, no one knows what that means. We know what that means, because it's a cliche for us. But for them, like for example, how do you describe when you say, that was a piece of cake? They have no idea what that means. Or what about this? Hey, scoot over. They don't know what that means. They have no concept. Or what about this one? He put lipstick on that pig. How do you describe that? Especially in India, they don't have pigs. They have no idea. Or what about this one? Hey, break a leg out there. How do you describe that, right? You say that and a translator says the exact same thing and they walk away going, he wants us to go out and break our legs? Or what about this one? Stop being such a wet blanket. No concept, or he's got a green thumb. I said this one about my wife, and the translator said, excuse me? I said, my wife, she's a keeper. He didn't know what that meant. Or what about this one? I said this one, I'm a little under the weather, and the one guy says, we're always under the weather. True, yes, that is truism. Here's another one, here's another one. I don't want to Monday quarterback this, right? So these sayings are really difficult to communicate and sometimes when you're talking to some people from different parts of the world, you'll say those things and they'll, right over their head. It's a failure to communicate, a miscommunication. Right? And so as I've been thinking about some of the cliches that I say and trying to make sure that I don't say as many cliches when I'm being translated, I realized it's really difficult to communicate. And then I started thinking about people within my own culture and communication back and forth with all of us. I just think that communication is just really, really difficult. It's really difficult on lots of different levels, but I think as believers who have the scriptures, who are influenced and empowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we should desire to be wise in our communication. The book of James deals a lot with a lot of this communication. James says that with the same tongue we can sing praises to the Lord and then turn around and curse our brother. It tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. And so this, the Bible cares about our speech. And I think that communication is something that's very valuable. It can be very refreshing and very powerful. And so this morning in the book of Proverbs, turn with me to Proverbs chapter 25. We're gonna look at verses 11 through 15 and we're gonna discuss wise communication. I'm gonna show you three things from this text about communication and to help us with our communication issues with each other. The first thing that we need to see from this text found in verses 11 and 12 is that wise communication is valuable. Not only the things we say, but the things that we hear that are wise and come from God's word, that's valuable. In verses 13 and 14, we're going to see that wise communication can be refreshing, incredibly refreshing. It can also be incredibly discouraging as well, but we want to make sure that the things that we say are refreshing to each other, those things which are building up. And then lastly, in verse 15, we're going to see that wise communication is very powerful, very, very powerful. We should look at what Solomon says and contemplate this so that we can communicate wisely to each other. So let's first look at this first aspect of wise communication, and let's see how valuable it is. Notice how Solomon starts off here in verse 11. He says, a word fitly spoken. That word for fitly is really important. It means to say the right word at the right time. We'd probably add, just knowing from the rest of the book, that it's the right word at the right time with the right attitude, right? So it's the perfect thing said at the perfect time with the right attitude and right intention. This is a word that is thought out and this is something that is said that comes from our understanding of God, understanding of his word, an understanding of the situation, an understanding of the people, understanding the circumstances. There are several times where we can say what we need to say, but we can say it with the wrong tone, right? Or we can say it in a way that might upset somebody. It might be the right thing to say, but if we say it in the wrong way at the wrong time with the wrong attitude, they're not going to listen. And so here Solomon is asking us to think about the words that we say and to realize that these are incredibly valuable, that when we say the right word at the right time with the right attitude, man, this is incredibly valuable. Because notice what he then says, because notice then the word picture that he uses. He says it's like an apple of gold in a setting of silver. This doesn't mean that somebody takes an apple and then covers it in gold. It's most likely referring to a piece of jewelry and the piece of jewelry has some sort of fruit on it. The commentators, for whatever it's worth, spend a lot of time letting us know that the word apple is a terrible translation and it should be some other fruit. To which I go, okay. All we should know is this, is that this is a very valuable piece of jewelry that's worn. And why do people wear jewelry? Well, people wear jewelry because it's valuable, because it looks good, because it's pleasing. And think about a beautiful piece of jewelry. Think about a piece of jewelry that either you or somebody you know owns. My parents, this past week for my birthday, bought me a pocket watch. I love it. And I've been looking at the pocket watch, and on the back it's got like this mirror, and I can see all the gears, and I can see how well it's put together. It's a beautiful piece, right? And I look at it and just go, wow, this is really beautiful. It's really nice. It fits together. It's pleasing. It's something that I want to protect, so I put it in my pocket, and it's got a chain, so nobody can steal it. I love it, right? And I look at it, and it's It's just beautiful, and you just go, wow, everything is just right. For me, when I look at it, I go, everything's just right. It's beautiful, it's pleasant. That's what a word spoken at the right time, with the right attitude, by the influence of the power of the Holy Spirit, using God's word, that's what it's like. It's like handing somebody a valuable piece of jewelry. Now, it's really easy to say, well, that's a right word spoken at a right time, with the right attitude. Some of you may say, well, how do I know that the word I'm about ready to say is the right word at the right time with the right attitude? Obviously, I can't talk to every instance. But I do think the scripture does give us a little bit of a framework to help us think about some of the things that we say so that we at least are thinking correctly about how we say the right words at the right time. And so I would say first, when we look at the scriptures, one of the things that the scripture places great value on is not saying anything. being quick to listen. Go with me just quickly to the book of James. Here I think is a very valuable verse here in the way that we talk to each other. So James chapter one, verse 19. And he says, know this, my beloved brethren. In verse 19, it says, And let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. And so here, James, in talking to these believers, is encouraging these believers, You need to listen first. Don't be quick to say something. And isn't it true that if you're quick to say something, you're quick and you're slow to listen, that you're also incredibly quick to anger? There seems to be a logical progression here, right? If I'm listening more than I'm speaking and I'm not so excited to say my own opinion, then it's going to be I'm gonna be slow when I get angry, right? Because I'm gonna listen, I'm gonna hear people out. And then it's important for us to remember this. Verse 20 says, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, meaning that if I do get angry, in my anger, because I'm not listening, in my anger, my fleshly anger. That's not producing what God wants. Sometimes we go, it's good for me to be angry. I just need to lash out my anger. No, that's not a production of the righteousness of God. The Holy Spirit produces in us self-control. Self-control is a product of God. Outbursts of selfish anger and temper tantrums, that's a product of the flesh. That is not something that God wants for us. So here, James tells us to be quick to listen, and so sometimes the best thing to say is nothing. There's other passages, so for example, in 1 Peter 3, it tells us not to speak evil about another person. So if you're about ready to say something pretty evil about another person, stop. That's not the right thing to say. It doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't even matter if you say something really mean and then go, but God bless their heart. That doesn't cover a multitude of sin, right? Or you don't get to say that and just go, well, I think we should then just pray for them. No, that's not a good cover. We shouldn't speak evil of people. Or if you're about ready to lie and say something deceitful, God doesn't want us to lie either. Remember in the book of Proverbs how many times it talks about how a wise person listens, a wise person doesn't speak, a wise person is thinking, and a product of the Holy Spirit in Galatians is self-control. We also need to remember, too, that there are times when we are asked to speak, and I think that the Bible gives us enough to say that we can say the right thing at the right time. So, for example, in Matthew chapter 28, the great commission is that we are making disciples, teaching them all that Jesus commanded them. This means that if you got nothing good to say, quote a Bible verse, right? I mean, that's the sense. Teach them what God is saying. That's an important thing. What I'm about ready to say, is this something that's biblical? Or how about this, if somebody asks you to defend the hope that's within you, they say, wow, there's something different about you. What's so different? Why do you have hope in the midst of a crisis? First Peter chapter three, verse 15 tells us to give a defense of the hope that's within us. Or we're asked sometimes to be gracious in our words. Notice what Ephesians chapter 4 says. This is a pretty good principle and I think this covers a lot of things. So Ephesians chapter 4 and then notice in verse 15 what the Apostle Paul says. And this is how we're supposed to talk to each other. And this is the way to ensure maturity in the building up and the edification of believers. Obviously, this is while yielding to the power of the Spirit. But he says, rather, speak the truth in love. That's a really important. thing to say the truth, and I don't think this is that I'm concerned about every single aspect of what I think is truth. I think Paul's concern here is the truth that is found in God's Word. There are some things that are very true that happen in the world. I don't have to tell you about it, and you don't have to tell me about it. It might be nice to know, but the things that are found here, the things that are written in the New Testament, the things that are written in the Scriptures, these are things that all of us need to know and all of us need to hear, and we're supposed to share the truth in love. This is, okay, I want my brother or my sister in Christ to grow. I want them to grow. So is the thing I'm about ready to say, is this going to encourage them to go back to God's Word? Is this going to encourage them to worship Jesus? Is this going to encourage them to live for the Lord? Or is this going to destroy them? Is this something that's going to take their eyes off of Jesus and maybe onto me or onto someone else? And so this principle of speaking the truth in love I think is a really good principle that kind of governs. What's the right thing to say at the right time? How do I say beautiful things? This. I'm speaking the timeless truth of God's Word about Jesus Christ and growing in Him and our relationship with Him, and I'm saying this with an attitude of love, wanting to see you grow. By the way, if that happens, sometimes that truth that's said in love may not necessarily be the most pleasant thing to hear from the other person. Sometimes it's good to hear a rebuke because we're not perfect. And sometimes it's good when somebody who loves us comes and says, hey, I've noticed this. But it's gotta come from a spirit of love. That's the point, it's the truth in love. And so if we go back to Proverbs 25, 11, notice that a word fitly spoken, the right thing at the right time and the right attitude, oh, that's something beautiful. But realize this, this is only beautiful to those who are walking with the Lord, concerned about the things that are found in scripture. Remember Jesus when he says, be careful not to throw your pearls before swine. There is a possibility that you may say the right thing at the right time with the right motivation, you might have a lot of scripture and a desire for somebody to grow, and you say that thing, and that thing doesn't come across. You gotta leave that with the Lord. You gotta leave that with the Lord. You gotta let the Lord work and the Holy Spirit work in those situations. Do not think that this is like a promise, like if you could just figure out the right way to say it, then it's gonna unlock a lot of things in people's lives. No, this is only valuable to the wise, not to the fool. And you say, well, Caleb, why do you say that? Well, notice the next verse. It says, like a gold ring or an ornament of gold, like the golden apple, right, in the verse above, is a wise reproofer to the listening ear. So notice that it's only valuable to the person who's listening to a wise reproof. It's that person then takes that piece of advice or that reproof and says, yeah, no, that is a valuable thing for me because it's promoting Jesus. It's pointing me back to the word. It's causing me to exalt Jesus Christ. It's encouraging me to live for Jesus. Sometimes there are pieces of advice that we're given that are not very biblical. And we attribute to them great value, very valuable things. I find that a lot of politicians will say things that will get us all hot and bothered. And they'll say things and we'll go, that's valuable. You can take that word to the bank. Another cliche, by the way. I don't know if that would transfer over. You could take that to the bank and we go, yeah, of course, politician, yeah. Now he might be right, she might be right, they might be wrong. I don't care. We have to value the word of God and the word of Christ above all things. This book is sufficient. This book is our authority. This book gives us the wisdom that leads us to Christ and to have faith in him. There's a lot of other words that are said outside of this book. They might be trusted, they might not be. The point is this, that when we are looking, and we are looking for people to advise us, and the words that we take as being valuable, must bring us back to this book, and must cause us to think of Christ, must call us to live for Christ. And those types of reproofs, and those types of people that care about us, that are true friends that want us to live for the Lord, those are the types of people that we should listen to. If they're not concerned about me living for the Lord Jesus Christ and honoring and glorifying him and being obedient to the scriptures, beware of the things that they're about ready to say. They might not be the right type of people to listen to for advice on how to live your life. If it's about how to fix your car, Okay, maybe Christians aren't the best in fixing cars. Maybe you might want to look at a mechanic. But when it comes to living for the Lord and the ones that you have as your closest confidant. And when they say the right thing at the right time and the right attitude, and you hear it, and you go, you know what? That is right. Don't you walk away from that going, what a valuable, valuable piece of advice this person gave me from God's word, valuable suggestion. I'm sure I could. to have a time where we all share valuable information and advice that other believers have given us throughout our life. And we would all go, wow, what a wonderful piece of advice. It's like a wonderful piece of jewelry, right? It's like my pocket watch. You take it out and you look at it and you go, that's true. Why is it true? Look how valuable it is. Why is it so valuable? Because it helps me with my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. I think that's what Solomon's talking about here. So wise communication is valuable. This is something we should strive for. We should strive to be wise in the things that we say and strive to be wise in the people that we listen to. Now notice there's another thing here. Wise communication, faithful communication, can be refreshing. So notice what it says in verse 13. It says, like the cold of snow in harvest time, is a faithful messenger to those who send him. He refreshes the soul of his master. So here, once again, we have a simile and a word picture of the refreshing nature of a faithful delivery of a message. Because we don't live in this culture at this time, this may be something that gets lost in translation, right? When you literally put the words that are said, you go, I would think that a cold snap during a time of harvest would actually be something not refreshing, but a big uh-oh, right? I remember in Wyoming, my grandfather used to grow tomatoes and he was always watching the weather and he says, it's going to be cold tonight. I sure hope my tomatoes last the cold. So when I read this, I go, that's not refreshing, that's incredibly scary. That's incredibly frightening. Cold kills. What does Solomon mean here? He either means one of two things, he either means The cold from a mountain storm that comes across the valleys in the middle of the summer. So it's like a cool breeze. Think about working on a hot day. That's when their harvest time was, was in the middle of the summer. Think about a cool breeze in the midst of a hot day. Isn't that refreshing? Of course it is. Many of the commentators point out, and I don't know how you would even begin to translate this, but they point out that there was this ancient custom where there would be people who would go up to the mountains, they would gather the snow and the ice from the mountains, they would then bring the snow and ice down, and they would give it to workers in the middle of the harvest like a cool drink. So you would have a glass of snow, And they would say that's what Solomon's referring to. It could be one of those two. It doesn't really matter. I think the point is it's like a cool breeze or like a cold refreshing drink on a hard day's work that's really hot. So think about that when you're working hard and it's really hot in the middle of the summer and then you take a break and you sit in the cool breeze and you have a cold drink. That's pretty refreshing, right? And so notice, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him. Now this is likely referring to a courier who has a message, who's paid to deliver a message from one important dignitary to another, and so the value And the refreshingness of this would be that the way I say it and the way I communicate it will be faithfully communicated to the other. He's not gonna play the phone tag game. He's going to memorize the thing and he's gonna say it with the same way and the same inflection. He's going to say what I said. And when it's delivered that way, how refreshing that can be, right? I'm sure that we've all tried to communicate through other people who didn't communicate what we were trying to say in the way that we were trying to say it. And somebody would come up and say, you won't believe what such and such said about me. And you would go, I never said such and such about you. That was just a failure in communication. But how refreshing is it when somebody goes and shares that message faithfully? It's refreshing, and notice how refreshing it is. It says he refreshes the soul of his masters. It means to revigorate, to breathe life into. It has the idea of brings a person back to life. It's interesting as I was thinking about this and thinking about how important it is that we tell the truth, how important it is that we let our yes be yes and our no be no. I also think it's important, too, just thinking of our role as Christians. We're to encourage one another. We're supposed to be faithful in the way that we represent God's word. to one another, that's really important. Represent what it says, and that should be the goal. What does it say, that's what we're representing. But I also think of this too, there's lots of people who would like to share the gospel with their community, and sometimes they change some implications of that message, and they say things that might sound really good, but it's not necessarily a faithful rendering of what God's word has to say. And so what ends up happening is there's some people that will make promises and say, God will do this if you do such and such, that God's never promised. But that's what they're doing. They're promising. They're not delivering the message faithfully. In fact, many of the New Testament authors use this image that's found in the next verse to speak of false teachers. It's like a cloud without rain. Jude uses this, Peter uses this. And so when the apostles looked at this verse, that's exactly right where they went. The faithful teaching of the things that are found in God's word, the faithful communication of truth, and how devastating a false teacher is. And what's the best image to describe that? Well, it's like somebody waiting for rain. and saying, look, there's a cloud that looks like it's got rain. That's going to be great. It's going to be refreshing. It's going to cause my crops to grow. And then the cloud just goes right over, not dropping any rain, essentially like the state of Wyoming. There's lots of clouds, no rain. You see lots of clouds with no rain. Basically, we could just call this the Wyoming verse, right? So notice in verse 14 how disappointing this is. It says, like a cloud and wind without rain, if you're in the harvest and the desire for rain, rain's such a good thing. Oh, here's gonna come rain, no rain. It says, is a man who boasts of a gift and he doesn't give. He comes with a different message. He comes with a different promise. And the person believes that promise like they see that cloud going, maybe there'll be some rain, maybe there'll be some reprieve, and there's nothing. Friends, our communication as believers who are worshipers of the Lord Jesus Christ should not be hollow. We need to be careful in the promises that we make and the things that we say and the expectations that we set for ourselves and others. You know how easy it is for us to make promises, to give certain expectations and ideas of, yes, I'm going to do this, and then we back out of that, we become flaky? This isn't how a believer should act and this isn't how a believer should talk. A believer should not lie to one another, but tell the truth and be honest and say that in a loving and gracious way. I do have an illustration and I don't want to give it because it might turn out to be gossip, but let me just say this. There are several times where I talk to people who are outside of the church Not about this church, but in another church I was at. And they talked about some of the people that were inside of the church. And you know what the biggest thing that they said? I'll never come to your church because so-and-so's there, because so-and-so promised to do such-and-such and never fulfilled it. Never did it. Never did it. Didn't do, didn't keep their word. They were dishonest. They weren't good in their practice. And that hurt the ability of the gospel. It hurt the ability. It was like they were immediately shut off from the truth of the gospel. So when Solomon's talking here, of course it's incredibly practical. But there's a reason for this practicality. We as believers care about the truth. We care about representing Christ in a right way. We're an ambassador for Christ. And when we act a certain way, that's what people begin to attribute to our God and to our Savior. If we're willing to do this in the name of our God, then he's willing to do that in his own name. He's not interested in that. He's a God who keeps promises and makes promises. Think of in Romans chapter 11, that incredible promise that said God, all the gifts and callings and promises of God are irrevocable, irrevocable. He makes promises and he keeps those promises. He is not a cloud without rain. Now there's another thing about wise communication. Notice the next thing, it's incredibly powerful. Incredibly powerful. Notice in verse 15, it says, with patience a ruler may be persuaded and a soft tongue will break a bone. When I think about trying to change the mind of a political person or of a ruler or somebody who's ahead of me, my first thought isn't, well, let's be respectful and submissive and patient. Normally, my sense is, well, let's barrage this guy with emails and calls, and let's write letters, and let's constantly knock, and let's constantly let him know that I'm around. Here, Solomon says, look, you got to understand, patience, patience, being patient, being respectful, submissive, dealing with this person in patience, dealing with this person going, look, I'm giving you the right kind of advice. I'm giving you the right kind of, information, you do with it what you want. And Solomon says the principle is if you do this patiently, which by the way would be a product of the Holy Spirit for us as believers, it says a ruler may be persuaded. Now there might be something else that might persuade him and that's bad. We don't want to We don't wanna brainwash somebody into the truth, and we don't wanna manipulate somebody into the truth. That's not good either, right? We're not concerned with the end results necessarily. We're concerned about the whole thing, right? So manipulation and brainwashing and extortion, we're not concerned with that as believers. That stuff may persuade a ruler, but that's not how we try to do this. We do this patiently, submissively, respectfully, and notice a ruler may be persuaded, he may be convinced. It's interesting, this word for convinced can also mean enticed. He can be deceived. And so here, I think Solomon is not saying that we just patiently deceive people, but that we patiently, logically, biblically, wisely say the right thing at the right time with the right attitude, and we say, you know what, the Lord is gonna work on the ruler the way that the Lord's gonna decide to work on the ruler, and I'm gonna patiently pray for him. And if I get an opportunity to say something again, I'll say it again. And this is how it works. And he may be persuaded by this. This is a real possibility of how we can persuade those people. And so this is thinking about wise communication. Sometimes I don't need to break the entire wall in one night. Maybe this is something that takes a little bit longer. Now the next part is incredibly ironic, because you notice it says, a soft tongue will break a bone. The word of soft tongue here is gentleness, meekness, right? Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those who are meek, right? That's kind of the sense here of saying words in humility, saying soft, gentle words, words that are building up. And so the idea of a soft tongue is very gentle. And then it says, this gentle, soft, meek thing knows what it'll do. It'll break a bone. It's like a weapon. It's incredibly powerful. And I don't think this means that if you want to break, if you want some heads to roll, that's probably another cliche that doesn't make any sense in any other culture, but if you want some heads to roll, Just be nice to him. I don't think that's what Solomon's saying. I don't think he means if you really want to get back at this guy, just be nice. That'll kill him. No, I think the idea is that soft words, gentle words, acting with respect, acting with patience, saying words of wisdom, can break even some of the strongest bones in the human body. They're that powerful that they can overcome great resistance. And so as we're thinking about how we communicate with each other, how we communicate with those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I think this is a great verse for us to meditate on. Patience and soft tongue. Not harsh, gracious. Not hateful, loving. Not let's try to fix all of the problems right now. Patience, it's okay. Saying nice words, respectful words. Being under the control of the Holy Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Those types of things, things that come from that. Maybe you have a family member who's really opposed to the gospel. Here you go. Patience, patience. Soft words, gentle words, nice words. What will that do? God will use his word in his way, and I've seen it where over time, over decades of patient prayer, constant witness, nice words, saying nice things, not being a lightning rod in the family, but just being that kind, gentle believer. I've seen some people who are very against the gospel, be very, very pro-gospel to the point that they placed their faith in Christ. I think of my own grandmother. For years, for years, the prayer request of the Hilbert family was, can Gammy come to know the Lord? Most of my life, that's been the prayer. Every time there was a prayer request, my grandmother to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Right before she died, the Lord opened her heart And because of the patient prayer and kindness and respect, she came to know the Lord before she passed. It's incredible that the Lord will use these things, but it requires patience and belief and faith. So, we need to be wise in our communication. It's valuable, it can be refreshing, it can be powerful. It's easy for us to say the wrong thing. For example, there once was a Japanese rental car company. They had a brochure for Americans renting cars, and it said this. When a passenger of a foot heaves in sight, tootle the horn. Now, do you know what that means? I don't. When a foot, a heave? Okay, and then it says this. Trumpet him melodiously. Who's the him? I don't know. And it says, at first, but if he still is an obstacle in your passage, then tootle him with vigor. Do you know what that means? Could you imagine somebody telling you that's how you should operate your car? Or what about this one? In the Philippines, somebody was selling a car, and this is what they wrote. Car and owner for sale. No, no. Or how about this? A Hong Kong dentist. I'm not trying to pick on Asians, by the way. I just realized that all these illustrations are from Asia. But this is funny. A dentist ran an ad in English to try to get Americans to come. And it says this, have your teeth extracted by the latest Methodists. God wants us to have wise communication. Sometimes we can say things that are not wise. They come across in a way that doesn't make sense. I guarantee you this, if a dentist came and says, you come to my dentist office, the Methodist will take out your teeth. Some of us would go, don't know if that's what I want. Clearly, we understood what he meant was by methods, God wants us to communicate. He wants us to communicate wisely, effectively, with truth. And so what are some of the things that we can do to help us in our speech? I think number one, we have to go to the Lord and we have to ask the Lord for help in the way that we talk to each other and the way that we listen, right? I think that's really important. I think one of the things that we should do is we should memorize God's word and meditate on the things that we memorize. And for this sermon, I think there would be one really good verse that we should memorize. Let's go back to James chapter one. And notice the advice given to us by James in James 1.19. He says, know this, my beloved brethren, let every person be quick to hear. You wanna start saying the right things and have wise communication? Listen first, slow to speak. That's tough for some of us. We wanna speak first. and then slow to anger, be careful how I react to things. Why, knowing that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. And so then notice his advice in verse 21. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness. So what is James' advice? His advice is what Paul would say, the mortification of the flesh. Say no to the flesh. Say no to the deeds of the flesh. You can do this by the power of the spirit. You can say no to those things. You can say no to sin. And the notice, he says, and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your soul. And so I think, This would be similar to what Paul says when he says, walk by the power of the spirit. Paul says in Colossians, walk by the word and let the word richly dwell within you. So you have this idea of be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to react, make sure that you're walking by the spirit, namely that you're mortifying the flesh, saying no to the deeds of the flesh, and walking by the power of the spirit by saying yes. That is, that is how we correct our mouth. And that is how we speak in a way that's wise. So may the Lord give us both the will and the ability to do all that we heard today. Let's go ahead and let's pray. Father, we just thank you for your word. We thank you for the practicality of it. It is incredibly practical. And so we just thank you for everything that you've given us, everything that you provided. We ask that we would speak in a way that's wise and that we would communicate your truth in love. We just thank you for Your son, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your spirit. We say this all in your son's name, amen. As the musicians come up, I just want to say one thing. I did notice on the bulletin that there was a typo, and it's big enough that I think I need to say it. Sunday school does not start at 10.30. Now, you still might show up at 10.30 and Sunday school will happen, but the official hour of when Sunday school starts is at 10. So, I just wanted to let everybody know that. Also, immediately after this, if you'd like to stay and fellowship a little bit, there will be some cookies downstairs and we can fellowship. Let's stand together. ♪ As long as Jesus lives ♪ ♪ The cold and hails wonderful things ♪ ♪ And the nations of earth will know strangely then ♪ ♪ In the light of his glory and praise ♪