The Word on Words — Phil Beach Jr.

Father, thank You for Your Holy Spirit and thank You for the Word and thank You for the different contributions that have been made this morning. And thank You, Lord, that You are helping us to recognize that You want to speak to us, You want to guide us, and You want our eyes to be steadfastly on the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is not profitable or wise for us to compare ourselves with any other person but that we might look to Jesus. And in Jesus we see what pleases You and we see the kind of man that You're so pleased with.

Looking to Jesus Instead of Comparing Ourselves

And as we see Jesus, we see how unlike Him we are, but yet we can't be trapped and fall and stay there the rest of our lives and just simply say, well, I'll never be like Jesus. Because, as Paul Harvey says, the rest of the story is that You have provided everything that we need for life and godliness in this life and eternal life in the life to come.

And so we pray, Father, that today You will help us to just be focused on You and to hear Your Word today. For Christ's sake we pray, Amen and Amen. Before I begin, I'd like to give an illustration that will help us to see the struggle that we often find ourselves in because of inbred sin and the tendency, apart from God's grace, to hide rather than come to the light.

The Human Tendency to Hide Sin

I recently read about a pastor who was involved with another person. I will use discretion because of the diversity of age here. And he had been doing this for quite some time but was unaware that he was being monitored with a camera.

By a private eye. And much unquestionable evidence had been gathered by the camera. And as a result of this, the board of the church was informed and was given the material, the pictures, unquestionable evidence.

And so the board gathered together and invited the pastor to come and presented the evidence on camera. And the pastor looked at the board and said, You don't understand. This is an attack from the enemy.

That's not me. That is a double. That is a double. It is something that the devil is trying to do to destroy the ministry here. And so with that, the board presented some more evidence that was captured on film.

And that was the pastor's car. And the license plate. Which had been the location where some of the film was filmed. Where he was engaging in unacceptable activity. And the pastor said, He stole my car.

He stole my car. He continued along this line for quite some time until finally the female friend of his came forward and indicted him. And then he knew that he couldn't continue his deception. And so the moral of the lesson is simple.

The human heart is woefully wicked. The human heart will go through great measures to keep itself from being exposed by the light. This is a condition that we are all prone to if we do not stay very close to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And stay very broken in His presence. And stay very much in humble attitude before Him and others. King David did the same thing, didn't he? He was confronted with the consequence of his sin. And immediately he began to plan and plot how he could cover up and deceive and lie.

And we know that the result of this was devastating. He not only lied and deceived, but he became a murderer. A premeditated murderer. He planned it. Premeditated murder is punished today by the death penalty in many states.

We know that, don't we? And so this is the depths of the human heart. And so what we must do is we have to pray that God will grant to us multiplied grace in our life. So that we will not fall prey to this kind of behavior when God seeks to correct us and seeks to bring us to accountability of our actions.

There is no spiritual growth. There's no spiritual maturity. There's no putting off the old man and putting on the new man. And positionally that's been done, but through daily life, without a maintaining of a broken, contrite, humble attitude toward God and toward others.

Especially toward those who are closest to us in our life. Husbands, wives, children, and family members. Now what we're going to look at today is a subject that we've heard in the past, but one that has great relevance at the moment.

Judgment Begins in the House of God

I'd like to begin by turning to 1 Peter and I'd like to read a scripture. We're going to go through a lot of scriptures. Because the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

And it's the Word of God in our lives, the hearing of the Word of God, that we are challenged and changed. God's Word is true. 1 Peter chapter 4. And we're going to begin in verse number 15. That's much better, thank you.

Very, very good. Thank you. Alright. 1 Peter chapter 4, beginning in verse 15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's affairs. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved. Now, the righteous is referring to the house of God.

Because that's where the righteous are. And Peter makes this profound statement, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore, let him that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

This Scripture here demonstrates that judgment, before it comes to the nations, and then before it is brought to the final judgment, the great white throne judgment, is going to begin in the house of God.

The house of God is the church of Jesus Christ. Now, we are not going to speak particularly on the nature of this judgment, but rather we are going to look at a particular area in our life that is going to be subject to judgment, that relates to the general overall judgment that is going to come to the house of God.

This judgment is a judgment not unto perdition, not unto eternal damnation. It's not a judgment that is being motivated by the wrath of God. That's demonstrated in Thessalonians. If you turn your Bibles there, as I said, we are going to go through a lot of Scriptures.

"...shall not be shaken, will remain.". And we know that God is after one thing in the church, and that is the righteousness that corresponds to His Son. The holiness that corresponds to His Son. The behavior that corresponds to His Son.

The purity that corresponds to His Son. We know in Revelation 2, we won't go to it, that John had a vision, and there he saw Jesus Christ, the blessed Son of God, standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.

There he stood, in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. And the candlesticks were seven literal churches in Asia Minor, but they represented the churches throughout the entire church age. And Christ is presenting Himself there, in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, as the standard, as the measuring rod, as the one that everything will be measured by.

We must be careful that we never fall from that standard, and begin to measure ourselves from anything less than that. Because that will deceive us, and those that we might influence. Christ is the one in our midst, and as Christ sees in His church, He's looking for that which corresponds to His own heart, His own nature, His own righteousness, His own purity, His own holiness, His own sanctification.

And so the judgment of God in the church, that will be brought to a consummation at the end of the age, and prepare a bride without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, is the sovereign move of God in our lives, in the church, in order to produce in us that which corresponds to Christ.

And the removing through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God, and the operating of the cross, that which is not like Jesus. Very simple. So, having laid that foundation, there is an aspect, an area of judgment, that God is going to shine His light on, because this particular area of judgment reveals, I could pretty much say, scripturally speaking, one of the most accurate measuring indicators as to what place Christ really has in our life.

Okay? And this area that is going to come under the judgment of God is the area of our words. Okay? The area of our words. Matthew chapter 12. Now, as a family, we have to realize that our words are very, very important.

And this is going to be applied in our families, it's going to apply in our interactions one with another, husbands and wives, parents and children, children and parents, and it's going to apply to our interaction one with another as Christians.

Okay? And so what we need now, the reason I gave that introduction about the pastor, remember? When he had presented to him the evidence that proved that he had been continuing in infidelity for a long time, what did he say?

That's not me. That's someone else. And then when they showed him the car, it was his car. That was stolen. That double of mine stole the car. Now I know that's a funny story and that's pretty much why I gave it because it is a hilarious illustration and most of us would say, how could he do such a stupid thing?

But guess what? The Lord would come into our mansion, He would look at every one of us and He would say, thou art the man. Have you done that? No, I've never done. Have you ever done that? When the evidence of God's Word...

I'm not talking about any human being coming to you and accusing you of anything, although maybe that has happened because God does use people. But God's Word. And what have we done? That's not me, Lord.

That's my brother. That's my sister. Instead of, oh dear Lord, have mercy on me, Lord. Have mercy. Matthew 12, verse number 37. Actually, let's begin in verse number 33. Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree bad and his fruit corrupt.

For the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Or another way of saying that is the abundance, the outflow.

What flows out of the heart comes out of the mouth in form of words. Okay? A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings evil things.

But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words you shall be what? Justified. What does the word justified mean? The same word that Paul uses for righteous.

For by your words it will be proven that you are righteous. And by thy words, what? Condemned, judged. Hence we see that our words reveal our heart. Chapter 6, verse 45. The same verse. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil.

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Words have the power of life and death. Proverbs 18, verse 21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Our words are either words of life or they are words of death. Our words are either words of light or words of darkness. Our words are either words of truth or words of falsehood.

And our words are either words that build up and construct or they destruct and tear down. Now, I've given this illustration over the years. I'll give it now. There was a man who was deeply struggling with his words and the things that he said.

And he had wounded someone very, very deeply. And his words were very, very venomous toward this person that he wounded. But he asked for forgiveness and he went to an old pastor and told the story to the pastor.

And he felt comforted in that he was forgiven. He felt great joy. There's a place for that. But the pastor didn't think that the young man understood what happened. And so the young man went out with the pastor and the pastor told the young man to get a pillowcase and a fillet full of feathers.

Fillet full of feathers. And to meet him at the church. So he did. And they went on this big, huge mountain. And it was real windy up there on the mountain. And the pastor said, alright, now, you got that pillowcase full of feathers?

He said, yes, I do. And he said, alright, I want you to take the pillowcase full of feathers and open it up and just toss the pillowcase up and down in the wind. And he began to do it and a big breeze came and all the feathers inside the pillowcase emptied out.

And the feathers went everywhere. Everywhere. Thousands and thousands of feathers. And the wind carried them and it was just a sight to see. And then the old pastor looked at that young man and said, now what I want you to do is I want you to go and collect all those feathers and put them back into the pillowcase.

And the young man looked at him and said, I don't think I could do that. That's nearly an impossible task. And he said, you're right. And he said, and so is it when after you say something to someone that is venomous and hurtful and not true, so is it when you try and take it back.

You might be granted forgiveness. God will forgive you. And if that person has the Holy Spirit in their life, they'll have to forgive you. But if they don't have the Holy Spirit in their life, they might never forgive you.

But apart from that, you may have forgiveness and you may enjoy the peace of forgiveness. But dear friends, you can't collect those words back. The damage is done. And words, you know the old saying, sticks and stones might break my bones, but names will never hurt me?

That's a lie from hell. That is so untrue, don't ever believe it. Matter of fact, sticks and stones do far less damage than words because sticks and stones might kill the physical body, but they cannot touch the spirit of a man or the soul of a man.

But when you begin to take your words and they are fueled by hell, they become weapons far more dangerous than a nuclear bomb, far more dangerous than a .357, far more dangerous than a club or stones.

Because when you hurl those words, they go right through the physical body and they lodge themselves into the heart and spirit and mind of the person. And many, many, many wounds have taken place because of words.

And it breaks the heart of the Lord so much that He doesn't want this in His house. He wants His house governed by Him and His words as we're going to say, pure and true and honest. First of all, let's look at the words of Jesus.

The Gracious and Life-Giving Words of Jesus

First of all in Luke chapter 4 verse number 22. The Lord was giving me this over the past month or so. I wept. I said, Oh Lord, You're so pure. Every word that I have ever read from God's word and every word that He ever spoke to my heart has been in 30 years now.

It's been 30 years that He called me out of darkness into His marvelous light. Every word He ever spoke to me was pure and true and honest. He never once spoke a crooked word to me. And then I know He wants us to be like Him.

Luke chapter 4 verse number 22. The Bible says, And all bear Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? The words of Jesus are gracious.

Gracious. That word gracious means full of grace. Full of kindness. Full of purity. Secondly, the words of Jesus. John 6 .68 Judgment shall begin in the house of God. God is going to implement into our lives the discipline of a loving Father in order to deliver us from words of death and darkness and falsehood and destruction so that we can be a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells and through whom the Father in Heaven is revealed.

John 6 .63 It is the Spirit that quickens. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life. That's John 6 .60. What did I say? It's 63. John 6 .68 Therefore I say unto you, or the Simon Peter answered and said, To whom shall we go?

For you have the words of eternal life. So in John 6 .63 His words are Spirit and life. And in John 6 .68 His words are words of eternal life. Thou hast the words of eternal life. John chapter 12. This is just going to be a litany of Scriptures.

And I pray that God will take His Word and wash our hearts and convict us and show us the nature of the judgment that God will bring into our lives and into the church and that we could come to Him in humility and really be changed along this line.

John chapter 12 verse number 47 and 48. And if a man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judges him.

The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day. So the words of the Lord Jesus will judge us. The very words will judge us at the last day. Luke chapter 9, verse 26. Luke 9 .26 It says, For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory and in His Father's and of the holy angels.

And so being ashamed of the words of Jesus will result in Him being ashamed of us. John chapter 14, verse 23. John 14, verse number 23. Jesus answered and said to him, If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

And so the words of Jesus are words that are kept by those that love Him. And John 17, verse 28. That's incorrect. That's a wrong verse. I know what it's referring to. It says that verse 8. Yes, thank you, Norman.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I have come out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. So Jesus gave to us the words of the Father in heaven.

And He said that His followers received them. Okay. Now, let's look a little more into this subject of words. And we're going to look now at the words of a wise person. The words of a wise man in heart.

Wise Speech and Words Spoken at the Right Time

First of all, in Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1. Remember now the Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

Obviously, that's an incorrect reference. Sorry, I have all these incorrect references. I wasn't paying attention here. Verse 10. The preacher sought to find out gracious words or delightful words. Yes, I have that too.

So, verse number 11. Maybe it's 10 -1. No, okay. Alright, so it's Ecclesiastes, what was that? 12, verse 10 and 11. So, they're gracious words. The words of a wise are as goads and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies.

Another version. Verse number 11. Anyone have another version there? Okay, so the idea there is the words of a wise man are very profitable and they're like that of a shepherd. Then we have also Proverbs 15, verse number 23.

Proverbs 15, 23. A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season is good indeed. And so, the words of a wise man are spoken in due season. They are spoken at the right time. You know, sometimes we can have the right thing to say, but we say it at the wrong time.

How many have ever done that? The right thing to say at the wrong time. And so, it's very important that our words would be governed by the Lord and the right time because oftentimes the timing is everything and you might have something to say to someone and it's the wrong time and you say it and it's completely missed and rejected.

So, a wise man's harp is governed by the timing, knowing when to say the right thing. Okay, now, chapter 25 in Proverbs, verse number 11. It says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver.

Apples of gold and pictures of silver. And of course, what that represents is simply that they're perfectly placed. Perfectly placed. Now, let's look. That was the words of a wise. Now, let's look at the words of a perfect man.

The Tongue, Spiritual Maturity, and Self-Control

James chapter 3 or a mature man. A man who is complete. James chapter 3 and verse number 2. Beginning in verse 1, My brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment or condemnation.

For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is mature and able to bridle the whole body. Continuing on, Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body.

We also look at the ships, which though they are so great are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm wherever the governor wills. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

Behold, how great a manner a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members. That means among our members in our body, in the body of Christ, that it defiles, brings spots, spots, wrinkles, the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature and is set on the fire of hell.

For every kind of beast and of the bird and of the serpents and of the things in the sea is tamed and have been tamed of man. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison.

For with it we bless God the Father and we curse men which are made after the likeness of God. But out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be. There you go.

These things ought not to be. Does a fountain send forth out of the same place sweet and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either of vine figs? So can the fountain both yield salt water and fresh?

So here we see that the tongue is an unruly member unable to be tamed by any man. But is God able to tame the tongue? Yes, He is. Man can't tame it. But God can. So what do we have to do in order for our tongue to be tamed?

To give it to God. Have you given your tongue to God? Have you given your words to God? Stop trying to tame them. Stop trying by your own skills to control yourself, control what you say. Give your tongue to God.

2 Timothy 2, verse 14, of these things put in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they, that is the household of God, strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

We are to avoid, the Scripture says, unprofitable words. Avoid them. We've already looked at Matthew 26, 12, 36, and 37. Every idle word will be given in account. Words spoken hastily. Proverbs 29, verse 20.

Proverbs 29, 20. You see a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool. So, there's great foolishness when we are hasty in our words. The Scripture says a wise man studies before he answers.

But a fool blurts out his thoughts when they come. But a wise man thinks before he answers. Proverbs 10, verse 19. Proverbs has a lot to say about the tongue. Proverbs 10, 19. In the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

Excessive talkativeness. Not innocent talk. I'm not talking about children who love to talk or that this Scripture is referring to many, many words when only a few words are necessary. It indicates that there's the presence of sin.

There's the presence of deceit. That's what Jesus meant when He said, let your yea be yea and your nay be nay. And He said anything else comes where? From the evil one. And what that simply means is this.

Oftentimes, our words are either ways of self-service. We're self-serving our own interests by our words. Or our words are simply words that are revealing the deceitfulness of the heart, the pride of the heart, the insecurity of the heart, the manipulation of the heart.

Manipulative words are very evil in God's eyes. Very evil. We say things because we try and manipulate. We put a slant on things because we're trying to get a purpose. These things come not from God. None of this is in the heart of God or in the heart of the Lord Jesus or in the Holy Spirit.

But it's part of the condition of the fallen heart that God must free us from. And so, let your yea be yea and your nay be nay because truly, truly, truly in the multitude of words, there is the presence of sin.

Proverbs 6 .2 My son, if you be surety for a friend, thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth. Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. And so, if you are quick with the words of your mouth to commit to something or to say something or to do something that you did not thoroughly think through, then those words of your mouth become a snare.

And so, you see as we develop this theme, the words, the incredible power of our words and the effects of them. Proverbs 18 .8 The words of a towel-bearer. Who knows what a towel-bearer is? A gossip.

A gossip. A gossip is someone who likes to tell someone information about someone else that doesn't have God's interest in view. God's interest in view. Okay? If you don't have God's interest in view, don't talk about someone to someone else because you're a towel-bearer.

And this is what it means. The words of a towel-bearer are as wounds and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. There you go. There's many, many more Scriptures that we could go through, but I think you're getting the gist of the idea here.

The Irreversible Damage of Hurtful Words

Psalm 34, verse 13 All saints should keep their tongues from evil. Psalm 34, verse 13 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and save such as are of a contrite heart. That's 34 .18. 34 .13.

Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. Keep. That word keep means to guard and to protect. Guard and protect your mouth. From speaking evil. 1 Peter 3 .10. The same admonition. Keep your mouth from speaking evil.

3 .10. 1 Peter 3, beginning in 8. Finally, be all of one mind, having compassion one of another. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing. But contrarywise, blessing, knowing that you are there unto called, that you should inherit a blessing.

For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. The word guile there means deceit. It's very interesting. This is very, very, very searching.

It is a word that's used to describe bait, trickery. Speech that has a bait on it. Speech that is deceitful. Speech that is attempting to bait someone. Words. They can be quite devastating. Quite damaging.

And God wants to cleanse us from this tendency. Why don't you look right now for a few moments to the Lord. We're going to go for a couple more minutes and then we're going to stop. But right before we close, why don't you consider this for a moment, alright?

Ask the Lord to show you the damage that has been done because of words. Perhaps in your life and perhaps the damage in another person's life that you have caused because of your words. Do you think it's possible that a conscience that will not quiet itself is because it is trying to alert us to the words that we speak and the damage they might be doing to people?

How many have ever struggled with a troubling conscience and you just sometimes really are not quite sure what the source is, what the root is? Why your conscience might be troubled? Anybody? Well, perhaps you might ask the Lord, is this maybe, Lord, an alert regarding some words that I speak?

Slander, Division, and the Separating Power of Speech

Now, just a few more Scriptures, the effects of idle, evil words that are not pure, that are not life but death, not light but darkness, not constructive but destructive. Proverbs 16, 28. You know that Satan's kingdom is fueled and strengthened in the midst of an unbridled tongue.

You know that? And that he is weakened and cast out when the tongue humbles itself, repents, and does only God's bidding. Did you know that? Proverbs 16, 28. A froward... Now, who knows what the word froward means?

Does it say crooked? Crooked? Perverse? Crooked. Perverse. Any kind of perverse speech. Now, listen. What it says here... Where is it now? Proverbs 16, 28. A froward man so strife and a whisperer... What's whisperer?

A gossip. Slander. Slander. Now, you know where the etymology of slander comes from? Where does the root slander accuse? Who's the accuser of the brethren? The devil. So, what does a froward man and a whisperer do?

Separate what? The best of friends. Now, let me say something and I want you to listen and I want you to pray about it and I want you to meditate upon it and I want you to take it to God. Alright? Every time we speak a word that is rooted and coming out of a heart that is being motivated by slander, evil, anger, wickedness, those words, it doesn't matter who they're spoken to and most devastatingly if they're spoken to our closest loved ones, they have a separating effect.

Now, we might minimize this and say, well, now that's not really true because I understand and I forgive. Well, that's irrelevant. That's not the point. Of course we forgive. They separate. They break and hinder and muddy the union and unity that we are to have one with another.

What does the Scripture say about a wounded person? It's harder to win than what? A walled city. You know how you wound someone with your words? You wound someone with your words and that wound can become a wall, a barricade so strong that it's more difficult to win that person back than it would to take a city that is protected by a brick wall.

A wounded heart. A wounded spirit. And so, here's the problem with words. When we say things that we ought not to say, we can seek forgiveness and that's fine. But when forgiveness comes, it doesn't always mean that the wall has come down.

It has to be worked on. You have to pray for God's grace and strength and God's Word to tear down the damage and undo the damage that the words have done. And that damage can only be healed through honesty, the Word of God, the power of God's Spirit, and God's grace and humility.

I recently spoke to someone who has been in an environment for many, many years where there has been frequent times of exchange of words one to another that were not at all pleasant. And there's always a wonderful forgiveness that occurs.

There's a wonderful, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But the feather effect has begun. And this person states that, yes, we've forgiven one another, but in spite of the forgiveness, there's deep wounds that are inside that are still there.

And these wounds hinder the kind of unity that they should be enjoying together. The only way these wounds can be healed is through the Word of God and through honest, broken humility one with another and working through them.

We're not going to go into that. But what I'm trying to say, what the Word of God is trying to say here is these words separate. They separate. Don't minimize power, the devastating power of what can happen when we start getting separated one from another.

Don't minimize it. Because it's when there's separation inside that the devil comes and hunts. And he can do mischievous things. Proverbs 17, verse 9. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that repeateth a matter separates very friends.