In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of wise and thoughtful speech when delivering God's word. He compares preparing a message to preparing a meal for a special guest, highlighting the need for careful planning and consideration. The speaker criticizes preachers who treat God's people as beggars, hastily putting together messages without thought or effort. He also references several verses from the Bible that emphasize the value of wise speech and the importance of restraining one's words.

Today we want to continue with our study in the scriptures about the use of the tongue. In everything Jesus is our example. I want to turn to Isaiah chapter 50. This is a very important verse and if you are not familiar with it, I would suggest that you memorize it. Isaiah 50 and verse 4. This is a prophetic verse referring to the Lord Jesus. And it says concerning Jesus in his earthly life, The Lord God, that is the Father, has given me the tongue of a disciple. That's a beautiful expression. The tongue of a disciple. Keep that in mind. God gave Jesus the tongue of a disciple. What God did for Jesus, he can do for you and me. If we trust him. I asked the Lord about something. I said, will you do for me Lord what you did for Jesus? And the reply I got was, if you fulfill the same conditions, yes. There was no partiality. God gives his grace to the humble. Jesus was so utterly humble. The Father could do so much for him, through him. He is limited because of our pride. Part of our pride is in our self-confidence. Part of our self-confidence is seen in saying, I can do it. I just got to grit my teeth a little more. And determine. And I'll do it. And God said, okay, go ahead and try. When will you come to the end of yourself? When will you learn that most important lesson of the New Testament? Without Christ, you can do nothing. Jesus' humility was not just seen in external actions like washing the disciple's feet. His humility was seen in his attitude towards God. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Humility that is done towards other people can get you honor. In fact, a lot of humility among Christians is just to get honor. You want a reputation that I'm a humble brother and a humble sister. It's an abomination in God's eyes. I want to be humble before God. And part of that humility is to acknowledge that without your help, Lord, I can never make it. I can't do a single thing right. Even what I think I do right, I'll mess up. And one mark of our having taken that position is we won't be so hard in judging other people when they mess up. Why do people judge others so harshly when they mess up something? It's because they themselves feel, I'm not like that. I don't mess up things. No wonder you can't control your tongue. You won't control it in a hundred years. Pride. God resists the pride. Do you think there's any hope for you if God resists you? Where in the world will you control your tongue? Not in a million years. But if grace, my grace is sufficient for you, that can do everything. Like in the world they say money can do everything, in the kingdom of God we say grace can do everything. And that's the real truth. So it's only God. What does it say here? The Lord God has given me the tongue of a disciple. How did God give that for Jesus? Won't he do it for me? Won't he give it to me? What's the answer? We fulfill the same conditions. There is no respect of persons with God. All are the same. So we see here the reason why God gave Jesus the tongue of a disciple is so that Jesus could use his tongue to help weary people who came across his path. He had a burden to bless others with his tongue. And he knew that his tongue had to be completely available to his father. To be able to bless others. Maybe we don't have such a burden to bless others with our tongue. He's not talking about so that I may know how to preach to 10,000 people. No, no, no. So that I may know how to speak to one weary discouraged person who comes across my path today. That's the one Jesus was looking for. Don't you have weary, gloomy, discouraged people who come across your path every day? Think if God can give you a word to sustain that weary one. Think if you can save a person from committing suicide. Because you spoke a word of encouragement to that person. The world is full of weary people. And it says here that God the Father awakens me up morning by morning to listen. He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple. So before I get the tongue of a disciple, I've got to have the ear of a disciple. And if you don't have the ear of a disciple, you'll never get the tongue of a disciple. If you're too busy to hear what God has to say. Oh, I've got so much to do. Well, go ahead. There's no hope of your ever controlling your tongue no matter how many messages you hear. You can hear a thousand messages like this. It'll be just the same. Because you're not keen on having the ear of a disciple. You're too busy. Oh, there's so many things to do. Twenty-four hours a day is not enough. We don't have time to listen to what God has to say to us. There's no hope of our controlling our tongue. It was like that with Jesus. Do you think it's going to be any different with us? And so, my brothers and sisters, I want you to listen to the word of God. And the book of Proverbs, that's what I want to look at. I've been studying through this and seeing what the book of Proverbs speaks about the tongue. There is no book in the entire Bible which speaks about the use of the tongue as much as the book of Proverbs. And if you study the book of Proverbs just for that one reason, it'll be worth it. No book. No book that speaks so much about the way we use our tongue and the way we use our words. And the other thing, there's no book in the Bible which speaks so much about wisdom and foolishness like the book of Proverbs. So, there's a connection. The wise man is the man who knows how to control his tongue and the foolish person is the one who does not know how to control his tongue. So, immediately, you know yourself whether you fall in the category of the wise or the foolish. So, in the book of Proverbs, and I want to take a study through many, many verses. We won't have time to meditate on each of them. But if you jot them down, you can look at them yourself later and meditate on it. And hear what the Lord is trying to say to you. The book of Proverbs speaks about seven types of words that we must avoid. Seven types of words that we must avoid in a broad way. The first is excessive words. That means speaking too much. Proverbs chapter 10 and verse 19 says, Where there are many words, transgression is unavoidable. Do you want to have the ear of a disciple? Do you want to listen to this? Where there are many words, transgression is unavoidable. I remember reading, I think it was John Wesley, who was very particular about holiness among the little groups of people. He gathered together in little churches in different places. It gradually became the Methodist Church later on. You know why it was called the Methodist Church? Because they had a method about everything that John Wesley and the others called them. Hey, these are guys with method, Methodist Church. But John Wesley was a very disciplined man. And one of the methods he taught the Methodist Churches was this, among many other things. He said, you sisters, when you go visiting homes, it's okay. Visit for fellowship. But if you sit down, he said, and talk for more than 45 minutes, you will definitely sin. Now, there's no verse like that in the Bible. But he discovered through many years of watching that when women sit down and talk together for more than 45 minutes, they're going to talk about people and there's bound to be sin. So he said, try and limit your conversation when you're visiting people just for fellowship and conversation to a short amount of time and then go away. Now, if that is not true, just examine your own life and see if John Wesley was not right. For a certain period, for some it may be less than 45 minutes. They sort of branch off into sin in 15 minutes. But 45 minutes was sort of the ultimate limit, he said. But just think of it. Now, there are godly people who can speak for three, four hours and never sin. But they are so few. John Wesley was talking about 90%. And most of us may fall in that 90%. A lot of young people also, when they sit together and talk and talk and talk and talk, after a certain amount of time, what do they talk? It becomes some type of sin. And they continue. Because, you know, our restraints, we can hold on to something only for so long. And after that, it all comes out. So, it says here, you know, there are many words. Transgression is unavoidable. But he who restrains his lips is wise. So, what should we do? Restrain our lips. Speak a little less. Okay. In chapter 12. Proverbs chapter 12, verse 23. A prudent man conceals knowledge. But the heart of the fools proclaims folly. Or as Matthew's Bible says, prudent people, wise people, don't flaunt, don't show off their knowledge. Talkative fools just broadcast their silliness. So, a wise man doesn't talk too much because he doesn't want to show off his wisdom. The fools keep on talking, talking, talking, talking. They have an opinion on this, an opinion on that, an opinion on another thing. Even matters on which they don't know anything, they'll give an opinion. It's a mark of a fool. Again, chapter 14. Chapter 14. This is just a general warning. In verse 3. In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back. But the lips of the wise will protect him. A wise speech always evokes respect. You know, if you can get a reputation that what you say is so wise, gradually people will begin to respect you. They'll want to hear what you have to say. And that's even in personal, private conversation. Okay, and we turn to chapter 17. And verse 27 and 28. He who restrains his words, his knowledge, or the one who knows much, says little. The one who knows much, says little. And he who has a cool spirit, is a man of understanding. An understanding person remains calm. And even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered to be wise. And when he closes his lips, he's considered wise. So, like that worldly proverb says, If you're a fool, keep your mouth shut. And don't open it and remove all doubt that you are a fool. So, even a fool, when he keeps his mouth shut, people say, Boy, what a wise man. He's hardly saying anything. That's what the Bible says, you know. Excessive words. And what happens when excessive words come? Unusually, it leads to gossiping. And talking about various type of things. Here's a verse about that. Proverbs 11, verse 13. He who goes about as a tail bearer, reveals secrets. But he who is trustworthy, conceals the matter. See, there are some people who cannot conceal anything. They know something, they must immediately tell the whole world about it. Such people are not trustworthy. If someone has told you something in confidence, you can earn a reputation for being a wise person if you never tell anybody. Particularly, if you are a godly person, you won't tell anybody. You won't tell your wife, you won't tell any other brother, you just keep it to yourself. Because somebody told you something in confidence. See this verse in Micah chapter 7 and verse 5. Micah 7, verse 5 says, the last part. Guard your lips, even from your wife. Don't say everything. This is a godly man who recognizes there are certain things he shouldn't even tell his wife. Are you like that? So, it's very easy. I think the danger is more for women here. Women tend to be greater gossipers, maybe because they have more time, free. No, it's not because I am prejudiced, as the Holy Spirit says that in 1 Timothy 5. And verse 13, where it speaks about young women who don't have anything to do, who are at home. In those days people were not working in offices and all. I think when we work a whole day we are kept from doing a lot of things. But here we are young. He is talking about the younger widows who got nothing to do. And he says in 1 Timothy 5.13, they become idle. And when they are idle, what do they do? It could be older women too. You know, maybe the children are all gone to work and you are an older sister. You got nothing to do, you are just sitting around at home. You say, well, let me go and visit somebody. It's exactly what it says. They go from house to house. And they are not only idle. He is talking about women. They become gossips and busybodies, talking about things which are not proper even to mention. The Holy Spirit knows human character and realizes that women who got nothing to do at home usually end up doing this. So thank God if you got a lot of work to do, that you have no time to sit and talk to people and gossip. Okay. Now the second type of words the Bible warns us against is hasty words in the book of Proverbs. First is excessive. Second is hasty. That means speaking too quickly. So first of all, I want to show you in Proverbs in chapter 29 and verse 20. Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? Proverbs 29.20. There is more hope for a fool than for him. Solomon wrote only 29 chapters in the book of Proverbs. Chapter 30 as you can see is written by Agur. And chapter 31 was written by King Lemuel. We don't know who that is. But 29 chapters were written by Proverbs, by Solomon. Definitely. And at the end of the 29th chapter he says, Well fellas, I've told you about hundreds of fools in these 29 chapters. Now I'll tell you about the fool who takes the cake. The one who gets first prize. Of all the fools I've mentioned, that's the man who speaks too quickly. Or the woman who speaks too quickly. Hasty. A man who is hasty in his words. He says there's more hope for all the hundreds of fools I've mentioned so far. There's more hope for all of them. Than for this guy. He takes the cake. Okay. Chapter 15 and verse 28. The heart of a wise man thinks before he answers. But the mouth of the foolish or the wicked pours out evil. He doesn't have to think. There's no. He doesn't put his mind into gear before starting the car. He just races on and speaks and keeps on pouring out. Whereas a wise and a righteous man thinks, hey, what shall I answer there? He thinks about it before he speaks. And I believe that's also something that we must bear in mind. If those of us who speak God's word in a meeting. I tell you and this is a terrible crime. I have seen committed by many, many of our elder brothers in all of our churches. I've spoken to them so many times. But most of them don't listen to me. What can I do? I tell them please, please, please, please prepare your messages before you get into the pulpit. Don't last minute produce some hodgepodge. That's a fool. A fool just says whatever comes to his mind. A wise man thinks before he speaks. And I tell you the Christendom is full of foolish people. Who get up into the pulpit in the name of the Lord Jesus. And bore people with their foolishness. Because they are too lazy to prepare a message for God's people. They feel, oh, we are under the control of the Holy Spirit. They are not. They are under the control of the flesh and it's pretty obvious when you listen to them. A wise man thinks before he speaks. He ponders. How shall I say it? Shall I put it this way? Shall I put it that way? And I've often used the example of a woman cooking a meal. I'll tell you. If you are going to cook a meal for a beggar. You asked a couple of beggars to come tomorrow morning. You give them some food and they come. Oh, you forgot all about it. And they land up. What do you do? You just go to the kitchen and put whatever leftovers there are. And put it all in one plastic bag and say here you are. That is exactly how many, many preachers preach. I'll tell you why. Because they treat God's people like beggars. Oh, these are beggars. Let me just put together something and give it to them. They have to listen to me because I'm the preacher. God's people suffer and suffer and suffer everywhere. Do you know the number of letters and messages I get from many people in our churches? Brother Zach, will you please tell our elder brother not to bore us every Sunday by wasting our time saying so many things. They won't even take five minutes. They take 45 minutes. Go on and on and on and on and on. They haven't prepared a thing. I tell them. Next year I get the same complaint. Next year I've heard complaints for 25 years. I suppose some people will never change. That's all there is to it. Because they have no respect for authority. They have no respect for God's Word. And they have such a fantastically bloated idea of their own importance of how they are led by the Spirit whenever they speak. You know something like some of these Pentecostals who say, Thus said the Lord. Do you think it's only them? What about all the guys who get into the pulpit and act as if God is speaking through them and they have not taken the pains to think about what they are going to say. And if they don't have a good memory to write it down. So I want to say to any of you who are called to speak God's Word. Think. Be a wise person. And if you've got only five minutes worth of stuff to say. Give five minutes. Is it better? Supposing a king was, the governor was coming to your house for dinner. Would you put that last minute hodgepodge and give it to him? No. You'd probably prefer two days in advance. Buy stuff. Marinate stuff. Do so many things. You know we would take more pains to make food for a governor than many people take pains to prepare a message for kings and queens. Which is what God's people are. So that's hasty words can apply to messages too. Chapter 16 verse 23. The heart of the wise instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips. You know when a wise man, his heart. We saw last Sunday how the mouth is the overflow of the heart and my heart is full. It adds persuasiveness to my lips. I think about how can I get these people to be gripped by the truth. I think in my heart and then speak. If I don't give thought in my heart I will not be able to speak in a persuasive way. Because I haven't given thought to it. It's just like this last minute cooking. If you decide to make a meal in five minutes it's not going to be very tasty. I'll tell you that. And you know there's something good about arranging things together. I mean you've heard me use the example of mixing it all up. Into one bowl you put the curry and the ice cream and the pickle and the poplum and the rice and the pineapples and the vegetables and everything. Well it's going to get mixed up in your stomach in any way. Come on eat it. I've never in my life eaten a meal like that. Nobody's ever given me a meal like that in the poorest place. But I tell you many many preachers have tried to give me meals like that. When they get into the focus. It's just a hodgepodge. You don't know which is the ice cream and which is the pickle and which is the vegetable and which is the fruit. It's all chaotic. I want to encourage all of you to study God's Word. Because God wants to use many of you young people. And if you don't start when you're young. You will not be able to speak God's Word. It's so important to think. Chapter 18. Verse 7. A fool's mouth is his ruin and his lips. Fools are undone by their big mouths. And the souls are crushed by their words. I think this applies to a lot of preachers. Souls are crushed by their heavy words. Okay. One more verse. That is chapter 21. Verse 23. He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles. Okay. Let's go to the third one. The third type of words which the book of Proverbs says we should be careful about. Is lying words. Lying. Telling lies. And that we read of in chapter 12. And verse 19. Truthful lips will be established forever. But a lying tongue is only for a moment. I want my lips to be established forever. And I always want to speak the truth. You can get away with it for a moment by telling a lie. Like someone has said. It's easy to tell one lie. Listen carefully. But it's very difficult to tell only one lie. You understood? Because once you tell one lie. You always have to say another one to cover up or to back up. When you are asked another question about that first lie. So it's easy to tell one lie but it's very difficult to tell only one lie. Okay. Okay. Verse 22. This should scare us. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. Those who deal faithfully are His delight. You know in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy. You read that word abomination. And that is because the children of Israel were marching through the wilderness. You know there were no toilets in the wilderness. So the Lord told them in the book of Deuteronomy. What they had to do when they had to go and answer the calls of nature. He said go outside the camp and take a spade with you. And dig a hole and finish your job. And then cover it up. Otherwise when the Lord passes through your camp. He will see this abomination. Okay. You understood what abomination is now? Lying lips are an abomination. Get rid of it. Flush the toilet. Get it out of the system. So there is no more lying in your life. I have seen brothers in our churches who tell me lies. They think they have fooled me. They haven't. I just keep quiet. That's all. They are destroying themselves. If you have told a lie. Go and confess it. Acknowledge it. I want to tell you that when you exaggerate. That's also a lie. Don't forget. When you say something is bigger than it really was. That's a lie. When you make some story about something you did. Is more fantastic than it really was. The world is full of people who make it juicy. And make it exciting when there is nothing exciting really. It's a lie. Because you want to get some honor. Chapter 13 verse 5. It says a righteous man hates falsehood. Chapter 20 and verse 14. I am just trying to show you how many places lying is there. And here is another type of lying which many people may be guilty of. Listen to this. Chapter 20 and verse 14. This is somebody who has gone to the market to buy something. And when he is in the shop. In order to make the fellow lower the price. He says bad, bad. But when he goes away. He says brother you know what a bargain I got there. God hates it. You didn't believe it was bad. You said it was bad, bad to get that poor shopkeeper to lower the price. He's got to support his family. Don't forget. But you can get him to lower the price. Nothing wrong in that. But you don't have to tell a lie. Saying it's bad. When it's not bad. You know it's not bad. And after you go away. You boast. Hey I got this really cheap. How do you get it? By telling him it was bad. You know you see how subtle this lying is. God's word is so down to earth and accurate. Chapter 26. Verse 18. Here's another type of lie we have to be careful about. Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows and death. Is the man who tells a lie. To his neighbor. And afterwards says. I was only joking. Have you done that? Hurt somebody and then say. Oh that was only a joke. You throw firebrands. Arrows. Hurt people. Wound people. And afterwards say. Oh I was only joking. You know how words can destroy. Jesus said in John 8.44. The devil is the father of all life. And you know that a father cannot produce a child without a mother. So if the devil is the father of all lies. Who is the mother? The one who tells a lie. I hope you remember that next time. Oh Satan. Here I am available for you. Father of lies. Come and produce a lie. Through me also please. Right now. Because I'll get some benefit out of it. I'll make a little money by signing that false statement. Oh Satan. Have you done it? Signed a false statement. To make a little more money. Told a lie. Yeah. Very few have a sensitive conscience here. Because. There's so much of lying in the matter of money. I'll tell you that. So much of it. And I think lots and lots of believers. Their hands are polluted. With money that they should never have earned. Because it was earned by telling a lie. And you think that money will bless you? It will go into a pocket. In which the Lord himself will make a hole. That it will go through. Be careful. That you don't let the devil produce. A lie through you. The Bible says in Revelation 21.8. Look at the number of people who go to the lake of fire. This is almost the last mention of the lake of fire in the Bible by the way. Revelation 21.8. It is the last mention or at least perhaps the last mention of the lake of fire. In the book. In the whole Bible. What does it say? People who go to hell. The lake of fire. The cowardly. The unbelieving. 21.8. Abominable. Murderers. Immoral persons. Sorcerers. Idolaters. And all liars. Which is the first sin mentioned in the Bible? Lie. First sin mentioned in the Bible is a lie. Satan told a lie. To eat. Saying no you will not die. Even if you eat. What is the last sin mentioned in the Bible? Chapter 22. Revelation. And verse 15. Outside the city are all those. Dogs. Sorcerers. Immoral persons. Murderers. Idolaters. And all those who love and practice telling lies. It's the last sin mentioned in the Bible. And the first sin mentioned in the Bible. Okay. Now we go to number four. Now think of these verses. I mean I'm sort of going through them. Quickly because. Leave it to you to meditate on them. Number four is flattering words. The Bible speaks a lot about flattery. Chapter 26 of Proverbs. And verse 24 to 26. It speaks about people who hate you in their heart. But disguise it with their lips. Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend. But all the while he's scheming against you. And when he speaks warmly to you. Verse 25. Don't believe him for a minute. Because he's just waiting for a chance to rip you off. And no matter how cunningly he conceals his malice. Eventually his evil will be exposed in public. People who flatter. Say nice things to you. Be careful about them. It says here in chapter 27 verse 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. A true friend will speak the truth to you even if it hurts. He will never flatter you. The false prophets in the Old Testament flattered the people. And said peace, peace. When there was no peace. They flattered kings. Because they wanted to get their salary. The kings paid the salary of the prophets. True prophets never got any salary. Jeremiah, Isaiah. They never got salaried by the king. But the false prophets. They had come out of the Bible schools. Called the school of the prophets. In the Old Testament. And they got their degree certificates. And the king appointed them as prophets. And they'd get their salary. And they would always say things that pleased the people. Multitudes of pastors and preachers like that. The same footsteps of those false prophets. Who just say things that will please their people. Because they got to get their salary. How can you get the salary? If you don't please the people. Especially the rich people. Because they are the ones who determine your salary. They are the ones who sit on the board of churches. And they are the ones who need correction the most. But those preachers can't correct them. Because the rich men have stuffed money into their mouth. How can you speak with so much money in your mouth? Difficult. Impossible. So that's how it is. But the wounds of a friend are faithful. And the other verse I'd like you to turn to is chapter 28 and verse 23. He who rebukes a man. Will afterwards find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue. One who you see something wrong. Now flattery is different from encouragement and appreciation. That's different. Flattery is saying something which is not true. You know praising a person with some motive of benefit for yourself. It's not really true. You know it's not true. But you say it. Jesus appreciated. He used to appreciate people. He never flattered people. Never. He never said anything which was beyond what was absolutely true. He who rebukes a man will afterwards find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue. And chapter 29 and verse 5. A flattering neighbor is up to no good. He's probably planning to take advantage of you. He's preparing a net for you to be caught in. You know like trappers put a net to catch. They use a net in the sea to catch fish. They use a net to catch animals and birds and so many things. And a flatterer is like that. It's a net. Flattery is a net it says to catch people. So that's something we must avoid. Acknowledge yourself. Are you flattering somebody to get an advantage for yourself? Do you flatter people? I mean it's better to say nothing. Limit yourself to what you can appreciate. But once it goes beyond that to flattery. It's invariably goes into the wrong direction. We're talking about a tongue controlled by the devil. Okay. Number 5. Is backbiting words. Proverbs chapter 10 and verse 18 we read. The last part. He who spreads slander is a fool. Anyone who goes around speaking evil about others. He's a fool. Think of this. Just think of this. I mean in the new covenant before we. I mean we've gone way beyond Proverbs. This is old covenant stuff. We should be way above that. You know the Bible says that when the Lord forgives us. He doesn't even remember our sins anymore. Isn't that wonderful? And if you look at your past life. Particularly your young teenage years. Then you think of the evil filthy things that you did. Which nobody knows. Your parents don't know. Your friends don't know. All the secret evil things that you did. Which you confessed to the Lord. And the Lord forgave you. And not only forgave you. He was so good to you. That he never revealed your sin to anybody in this church or in the world. Why can't you treat other people the way God has treated you? God covered up everything you did. Why do you have to go around exposing what other people did. Which you happened to find out. Can't you conceal it? You know I'll tell you something. God treats us as we treat other people. I've discovered that through many years. If I'm kind to those who are beneath me. In the social level. God will be very good to me. If I'm kind to those who I've got authority over. God will be good to me. And if you reveal the evil that you know about others. You just be careful. That God doesn't somehow or the other one day. Reveal to people. Some of the things you did. You say there's no way people can discover it. Really? You don't know God. We reap what we sow. So don't go around backbiting. Chapter 11. Verse 12. He who despises his neighbor lacks sense. Or as the message Bible says. Mean spirited slander is heartless. It's because you have no love. That in a mean spirit. You go around speaking evil about others. Forgetting how much God has hidden of your own failures. Chapter 16. Verse 28. A slanderer. The last part. Separates intimate friends. Chapter 18. Verse 8. The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels. They go down into the innermost parts of the body. Like you know they talk about juicy gossip. Why is it people come to you. And tell you. All that gossip. It's because they see that you love it. You like those laddus and sweets that they give. Right? It's so tasty. And you want them to come some more. I'll tell you what I did. To get rid of all this gossip in my house. When people come to my house and tell me about something. I say well thank you for telling me that. I'll call him up at the first opportunity. That person you talked to me about. And tell him all that you told me. Oh no no no brother. That's only for you for prayer. I say no no no. I have the habit. Of immediately contacting the person. Anybody talks to me about. And telling them what you told me. And I'll tell your name also. You're the one who told me that. I have been delivered from gossip in my house completely. You want to follow that prescription? If gossip is juicy for you. You will not follow it. But if you want to get rid of. All the garbage that people. Imagine if somebody brought his garbage bin. Came to your sitting room. And poof. Dumped it all there. Smelly rotten stuff. And you lick it all up. And say it's great. And he comes next day with another bit of garbage. It's crazy. And this is worse. Yeah. It says. In chapter 26. Verse 20. For the lack of wood. The fire goes out. And where there is no whisperer. Contention dies down. Where gossip ends. The quarrel dies down. Just like a fire will go out. When there is no fuel. Gossipers are producing the fuel. Providing the fuel. He who has ears to hear. Let him hear. I wanted to show you one. Serious word in Psalm 50. In case you haven't seen it. Psalm 50. Please listen to this. Psalm 50. Verse 20. You sit and speak against your brother. And these things you have done. Says the Lord. Verse 21. And I kept silent. You thought. God says. That I was just like you. But I will reprove you. And consider this. Verse 22. I will tear you in pieces. And there will be none to deliver. What was his crime? His crime was only that he sat and spoke against his brother. And the Lord says. I will tear you to pieces. I will expose everything you ever did in your past life. Be careful. Number six. Angry words. That's another thing which. Most. Spoken much more about in the New Testament. We will think about that on the next study on Sunday. But. Chapter 12 of Proverbs. We read in verse. There are many verses on this in the book of Proverbs. Numerous. Chapter 12. Verse 16. A fool's anger is known at once. Fools have short fuses. They explode. Quickly. A fuse is supposed to blow only when it's really bad. And the voltage is very high. But fools have got short fuses. It's a way of saying that they explode so quickly. And a little thing is enough to provoke them to anger. Okay. Chapter 14 and verse 17. A quick tempered man. Acts foolishly. Always it's connected to the fool. Anger. In Ecclesiastes it says. Anger dwells in the bosom of a fool. I mean if it's in your heart itself. It's a fool. If it comes out through the mouth. It's even worse. Okay. Chapter 14 and verse 29. He who is slow to anger has great understanding. You know that New Testament verse in the book of James chapter 1. Which says. Be quick to hear. And slow to speak. And James chapter 1. And verse 19. Let everybody be quick to hear. Slow to speak. Slow to anger. So God's given us two years. And how many tongues? One. Most people anyway. But God only one tongue. But many act as if they got one year and about ten tongues. Quick to hear. Slow to speak. And slow to anger. If you are slow to speak you will be slow to anger. Now there are numerous verses on this in Proverbs. Angry words. It says in chapter 15 and verse 1. A gentle answer turns away wrath. And that's one of the things we must really seek to come to. Not just keep quiet. It's easy to keep quiet. When somebody is angry. When you keep quiet when somebody is angry. It usually means you are bottling it up. But if you overcome your anger. You can speak a gentle word. It's more difficult to speak a gentle word than to keep quiet. That's what it says here. When you keep quiet it probably means you are angry still. But it's all in your heart. Like a good practicing yoga you can really control your mouth. So chapter 15 verse 18. A hot tempered man stirs up strife. I'll just quickly go through this. Chapter 16 verse 32. He who is slow to anger is better than one who is mighty. Who captures a city. He says it's better to conquer your spirit and your temper. Than even to conquer a city. And chapter 17 verse 14. It says the start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam. And if you don't stop it the whole dam will burst. It says in chapter 19 verse 11. A man's discretion, wisdom makes him slow to anger. In chapter 20 verse 3. Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man. But any fool will quarrel. Chapter 22 verse 24. Do not associate with a man given to anger. Verse 25. Otherwise you'll learn his ways. If you move around with people who get angry. You'll get angry yourself. And chapter 25 verse 28. Like a city that's broken into without walls. Is a man who has no control over his spirit. Think of this picture. Walls. In the olden days cities had walls. And if the enemy would come to break down those walls. And break down those walls to capture the city. And here it says Satan is attacking you. Attacking you to make you angry. So that finally he can capture your whole heart. That's the picture here. So keep those walls. That means control your temper. Otherwise it's like a city that's broken into. That's got no walls. Chapter 29. A hot tempered man abounds in transgression. Now there are a number of other words. Let me just show you one. Where it speaks about a wife who can't control her tongue. It says in chapter 19 verse 13. The contentions of a wife are a constant dripping. That means one translation says like a dripping gutter. Imagine if a man's got a wife whose mouth is like a dripping gutter. Can you picture that in your mind? All the rubbish that comes out of the sewage. Dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping. Morning till night. Something or the other. Wrong, fine, foul, criticized, angry, angry. Sisters. Be like the woman it says in Proverbs 31 and verse 26. Says about her she opens her mouth in wisdom. And the law of kindness. Teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Her hands you read in Proverbs 31 are rough. Because they've been working hard. Her tongue is soft. Today many young people have got soft hands. And a rough tongue. Don't marry a woman with soft hands. She'll be lazy. And have got a rough tongue. Marry a woman whose hands are rough. Because she works with her hands. And who's got a soft tongue. That's what Proverbs says. Many women have excelled. But you excelled them all. Okay. What shall we do when we get angry? Psalm 4 verse 4 and 5 says. Psalm 4 verse 4 and 5. When you are angry. Tremble and do not sin. Ephesians 4 verse 26 quotes that. Be angry but don't sin. Go and lie down on your bed. And keep quiet. Good advice. You got angry. Go to the bedroom. Go and lie down on your bed and meditate. For some time. Like I used to have a little plaque on my wall. Umm. Before you point out somebody's fault. Count ten of your own. Okay. Finally, unbelieving words. That's the last one. Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 20 and 21. I'll just quickly say this. Because there's not much spoken about faith in the New Testament. But unbelieving words. It says here. Proverbs 18 and verse 20 and 21. Umm. With the fruit of a man's death and life are in the power of the tongue. And we know that life comes through faith and death through unbelief. And so with our words we can bring life or death. With the heart man believes. With the mouth he confesses. We'll consider that more tomorrow. But I want you to turn to this verse in closing. Chapter 22 and verse 18 and 19. It says about God's word being pleasant if you keep them hear the words of the wise. Verse 17 God's words. And it'll be pleasant if you keep them with you. And if those words are ready on your lips so that you may trust in the Lord. There you see the connection between faith and our speech. That the words we speak are words of faith of trust in the Lord. And not words of unbelief. When the doctor says, there's no hope. You say, yeah brother, there's no hope. We'll pray. Is that faith? Well, that's what the doctor said, but let's trust the Lord and see if God can do something about it. Or if somebody says, things are so terrible brother, everything's going wrong. Yeah, that's how it is brother. In the world it's like that. We've got to sort of go along, get along like that. Instead of saying, no, but God can help you my brother. He can solve that problem. The words on your lips. Let them not add to the unbelief. The world is full of fumes of unbelief. Let's speak words of faith. Let's bow our heads before God. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. Help us to live in the light of it. To be careful about all these warnings you've given us. Preserve us. Preserve our tongue. The words we speak. We humbly ask. In Jesus name. Amen.