Jeff Durbin: Big Mouths

Apologia Studios

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

01:51

If you want to open your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, that's in your Old Testament if you're new to the Bible, right next to the

01:58

Psalms. Book of Proverbs chapter 13, we are in our working through our exposition of the book of Proverbs.

02:05

We call this Wisdom from Above. This book is glorious and powerful and I have to say we've done many, as you get there, we've done many series and messages through different books of the

02:17

Bible since we planted Apologia Church many years ago and this particular series has been not only the most challenging to preach through, to preach through the book of Proverbs is very different than preaching through like a narrative gospel record or something like Romans.

02:32

It's not only been the most challenging, it's been the most rewarding and humbling for me as your pastor and so I hope that God has used this to transform you and to renew you.

02:41

The goal of wisdom is to have skill in living, amen? Is to not be knowledgeable fools, people who know a lot of things about God, but they live in a way that looks like they don't actually know

02:55

Him. Knowledgeable fools, people who can articulate all kinds of amazing theological truths.

03:01

You can talk about Jesus, you can talk about the Bible, you can talk about Christian philosophy and Christian worldview,

03:07

Christian history, but you don't actually walk in such a way that looks like you know God, like that knowledge has any meaning and so this series is about wisdom from above.

03:17

How do we live in such a way that it looks like we know God? And so we're in Proverbs chapter 13, today starting in verse 3.

03:27

Hear now the word of the living and the true God. Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life.

03:37

He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Thus far as the reading of God's holy and inspired word, let's praise

03:44

His people. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for the gift of your revelation here before us.

03:56

Lord, in ourselves we are so unworthy to even hold these precious words.

04:04

And ourselves, we're unworthy of you. Because of your grace, because of your love to us as a father, you give us,

04:13

Lord, eternal life in Jesus, but also this amazing treasure of your word and your wisdom.

04:21

So I pray, God, that you would get the teacher out of the way today. You would speak by your spirit to your church, that you would renew our minds, that you would challenge us to live like Jesus, to live with a pursuit of wisdom, help us to live treasuring wisdom like the gold and silver that it surpasses.

04:42

We praise you, God. Bless your church for your glory and kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen.

04:49

So here we are, the book of Proverbs. Now I have to say that this particular sermon, this particular day, is a bit challenging when you're talking about wisdom from above and walking wisely when it comes to our lips, our tongues, and our mouths.

05:07

It's challenging because, and I think most of you who've known the Lord, have been walking with Him for some time, or you've been in His word, you know that what we're going to touch on today is everywhere.

05:17

It's absolutely, undeniably pervasive through the scriptures.

05:24

God centers whether or not we are wise people, whether we know

05:29

God or look like we know God, in so many times through scripture and in so many ways, on the basis of what we do with our lips, our tongues, and our mouths.

05:41

And it's difficult too, because if you look through actually just this one book, this particular portion of God's revelation, the book of Proverbs, this is pervasive.

05:52

I mean, start reading Proverbs, maybe spend half an hour reading it tomorrow. You're going to run into the mouth and the lips so many times.

06:02

It's centered throughout this book, and so it's hard to do a sermon today on Proverbs 13 .3

06:08

without staying here until, say, 10 o 'clock. Are you in? No. It's difficult because there's so much to say, and it's tough too because you say, okay, we're doing a series through the book of Proverbs, and we do want to finish this one day, and Pastor Jeff just had this

06:23

Sunday on one verse. Are we ever going to finish? And the answer is probably not before we all die.

06:30

We will finish, and you'll see today that we can't exhaust this. However, I know that if we will receive what our

06:41

Lord says to us here, it'll transform almost every single aspect of our lives, our relationships, our marriages, our relationship to our children, our relationships to one another, our church life, our life out there in the world.

06:58

And so, so much is said in the book of Proverbs and throughout the Bible about our lips, our tongues, and our mouths.

07:06

It's everywhere. Wisdom clearly, skillful living, living like Jesus is clearly seen by your mouth, by your mouth.

07:18

So, the text says, again, whoever guards his mouth preserves his life, and then it's contrasted with he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

07:31

And this is a powerful thing. You're going to see this, by the way, everywhere. If you're new to the Bible, you're going to notice this almost immediately.

07:37

In Hebrew thought, there is a connection between the tool, the instrument, and the heart.

07:44

And so, you'll have, of course, the obvious ones that we all know of. We probably have them memorized.

07:49

Things like where Jesus says to his people, he says, if your eye causes you to sin, what do you do with it?

07:57

You pluck it out. Or he says, if your hand causes you to sin, what do you do with it? You cut it off.

08:03

Now, it's interesting because, unfortunately, there have been people in history that took that literally.

08:09

My eye's causing me to sin. I'm going to tear it out of my head. My hand causes me to sin. I'm going to cut it off and cast it from me.

08:15

But here's the problem. It's a complete misunderstanding. You can tear your eyes out of your head and you will still struggle with lust because the eye was only the tool that the heart was using.

08:29

That's not really how you're sinning with your eyeball. But Jesus says, because Hebrew thought does this, it identifies the tool, the instrument as the thing, but it's not actually what's feeding it.

08:42

It's somewhere else. So, Jesus says, your eye caused you to sin. Pluck it out and cast it from you.

08:47

You see, of course, in Romans chapter 3, when the Apostle Paul is describing all of humanity in the fall, he says they have feet that are what?

08:58

Who knows? Feet that are swift to shed blood. And you think for a second, wait a minute, it's not really the feet, right?

09:07

The feet aren't the problem. It's the person. It's the heart. It's the mind. It's that soul feeding that thing.

09:15

The feet are the tool swift to shed blood. Again, this is common in Hebrew thought, identifying the tool itself.

09:23

Tongues that keep deceiving. That's there in Romans as well. But here's the thing.

09:28

None of these things are what actually does the sinning, right? Not the eye, not the hand, not the feet, not the tongue.

09:38

It is actually, it's a tool of the heart. It's a tool of the mind. Your mouth, my mouth, as an image bearer of God is given to us by God as either a fountain of life or a tool of death.

09:53

It's a tool. God gives it to you as a tool. And so your mouth is a tool. Your lips are a tool.

09:59

Your tongue is a tool. It's a tool of your heart. And so, of course, wisdom here is saying whoever guards his mouth preserves his life.

10:08

He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Now, you know, of course, the famous verse that Jesus gives to us related to where is all of this coming from?

10:21

What's the problem with my life? What's the problem with my mouth? What's wrong with me? Jesus addresses that in Luke chapter 6.

10:28

Go there. Many of you probably already have this memorized. Luke chapter 6 and verse 45, our

10:37

Savior tells us where this is all coming from. And in Luke 6 45, the

10:44

Lord Jesus says, the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil.

10:57

For out of the abundance of his heart, of the heart, his mouth speaks.

11:05

So here's what we learn from the Lord Jesus. Here's God incarnate, wisdom incarnate.

11:12

This is the God of the universe in flesh, and he's identifying what the real problem with me is.

11:19

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The mouth is the tool that God gives to us.

11:25

It can be a tool of life. It could be a tool of death. It's a fountain of life, or it's something that's wide open and leads to ruin.

11:32

And Jesus says, it's the heart. It's the seed of your passions, your emotions, your will.

11:37

That's the source of your problem with your big mouth and my big mouth.

11:44

And so the mouth, ready, is telling on you. Your mouth is telling on you.

11:52

Your mouth is telling you what's actually there inside of you. And so here's the challenge, is that we can walk into a

11:59

Christian church with a big smile, dressed really nice, smelling really good.

12:05

We can walk in and look like all is well. We can play the Christian game, have the Christian veneer on us.

12:12

But give us enough time, and we're going to know the true state of your spirituality by what you do with your mouth, your lips, and your tongue.

12:21

Your tongue is a tool, and your tongue will reveal what's actually in your heart.

12:27

Your mouth is telling on your heart. You see what's really there.

12:33

Have you guys seen those videos where, some of them are like very, very cruel, where the camera will be set up right here, and the person can't see what's in the box in front of them, but there's straws sticking out of the box.

12:45

You see those videos where the person has to sort of like, taste the straw and tell you like what they're drinking.

12:51

It can get honestly pretty ugly, because some people are just evil. And so they'll put like hot sauce in one, or like hot pickle juice in another, and some just some bad stuff.

13:01

So you have like, what did you just drink? That was classic Coke. What'd you just drink? Oh, that was root beer. And then all of a sudden they suck down some like spicy pickle juice.

13:09

Some of you are weirdos, and you're like, I like that. That's good. But you know what I'm saying? Like it's, you're tasting what is coming out.

13:16

You don't know what's there. You're just taking a sip and you're going, let me see what that actually was.

13:22

And so you're sampling, sampling, sampling. And here's the interesting thing about our mouths, is our mouths are telling us what's actually inside of us.

13:33

And sometimes we can recognize the state of somebody's heart. We can sample what they're giving.

13:40

We can taste what's in their hearts through what comes out of their mouths. Somebody lives in such a way where it's just free and easy.

13:48

They slander. They accuse people without evidence. They gossip.

13:54

They are mean spirited with their mouths. They cut people. And they do it freely. They actually have violence on their mouths constantly.

14:02

And so we should be able to say, I sampled that. I can taste what's there. I can taste slander in your heart.

14:07

I can taste malice in your heart. I can taste the lies in your heart. I can taste the hatred in your heart.

14:15

I can taste the violence in your heart. Because your mouth is telling on your heart.

14:22

Scripture's clear about that. Now back to Proverbs chapter 13, verse 3.

14:31

Again, whoever guards his mouth, preserves his life.

14:38

He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. There's a contrast here. And this is, you'll see this, of course, you know this by now.

14:45

We've done this long enough. In the book of Wisdom, it's a common Hebrew device, is there is parallelism.

14:52

And then there's contrast. And in Wisdom here, you have yet another contrast. It's happening over and over again to see this, but not that.

14:59

Here's two categories. Here's the contrast. Guarding your mouth preserves your life.

15:06

Having a big wide open mouth leads to ruin. So the contrast is with a guard over a mouth.

15:16

And the interesting thing about the guard is the guard, what you would think the guard is actually facing toward the mouth.

15:23

Guarding the world with what's coming out of your mouth, right? There's a guard set.

15:29

There's an army set. There are people with tools to assault, to guard and protect.

15:36

A guard over your mouth. Protect the world from what comes out of my lips and my mouth.

15:42

You're preserving the world with a guard set over your lips. And that said, in contrast to the other mouth, the mouth of the fool, the mouth of the unwise, the mouth of the person who has a big, wide, open, unguarded mouth.

15:58

So that's why today I said I was going to title today's sermon, not just big mouth, but shut your big mouth.

16:08

Because that's basically what's being said. Shut your big mouth. Close your big mouth.

16:13

The fool has a wide, open, not defended, not guarded mouth.

16:19

Stuff can just come in to ruin and stuff comes out to ruin. The wise person sets a guard over their mouths.

16:30

Guarding a mouth means a preservation of life. A big, wide, open mouth leads to ruin.

16:37

Now we've already seen this together, but let's review just a portion of it because it speaks to what all of these verses are aiming at.

16:45

Over and over again, go to Proverbs chapter 10. Proverbs chapter 10.

16:52

There's a guard and then there's an open mouth. In Proverbs chapter 10, starting in verse 11, the text says,

17:03

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

17:10

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

17:24

The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

17:30

A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and the poverty of the poor is their ruin. The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.

17:38

Whoever heeds instruction is on the path of life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

17:45

The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.

17:53

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

18:01

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

18:08

The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

18:16

So there it is again, tools, right? Lips, tongues, mouths.

18:23

But do you see the constant contrast? And here's what we're aiming at here. Listen closely.

18:29

As much as we would like to think that there can be a middle ground with God's people when it comes to our mouths, our lips, and our tongues,

18:37

God's wisdom tells us there's no middle ground. Your tongue, your lips, your mouth, and mine are either gonna be fountains of life, they are gonna be like choice silver, they are gonna bless, they are gonna heal the world and the person next to you, or they will be tools of destruction, ruin, misery, and death.

19:00

There is no middle ground. Wisdom doesn't allow for it. My mouth is either a tool for righteousness and godliness, or it is a tool for evil and godlessness.

19:11

That's what wisdom is telling us about our mouths. Now, if you look at chapter 10, verse 11, it says the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

19:25

Now, I actually like how the King James Version puts this.

19:31

It says that the mouth of the wicked, violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

19:37

Violence, violence covers the mouth of the wicked. What's that mean?

19:43

What's that mean? Well, when you consider what it looks like when someone has something covering their mouth, it's what's giving them away.

19:57

Now, if you're a parent and you've had children, you've got small children, you know that it doesn't take very long for the child to figure out where the good snacks are.

20:06

It doesn't take very long for the child to know that that's where dad keeps the chocolate, or that's where mom keeps the gummy bears, or whatever the case may be.

20:15

It doesn't take them very long. And so when they get to be like four or five years old, they're searching, seeking, and destroying all the food in the house and trying to find it.

20:22

And as a parent, have you ever sort of like, the child's gone missing for about five minutes.

20:28

You just said to the child, no, you may not have chocolates. You just had 10 chocolate bars and two popsicles.

20:34

This was Saturday for Augustine. So you cannot have any more, or I'm going to be in sin as your father, right?

20:40

It's like, I can't do this anymore. Your mother is lying to you. You should not be having this. You know, this is an insight into my home.

20:46

So, but you know, when that child disappears and you can hear stuff, you know, rustling around, and then the child comes and appears from outside the kitchen and their face is covered in chocolate, right?

20:58

And you're just sort of, you know, looking at you like, hey, how's your day, dad? How are things for you? You're such a good father.

21:04

I love you, dad. And you look at the child and you're like, what did you do? I was just getting some water and some healthy things.

21:14

And you're like, I don't think that's the case because your mouth is giving you away.

21:19

You have chocolate on your face. You have chocolate on your lips.

21:25

Like someone who is unwise has violence covering their mouth. It's on your mouth.

21:31

It's there. When Dr. Bonson talked about this particular passage, he,

21:37

I think titled the sermon, it's on your mouth. It's all on your mouth. And he was emphasizing the fact here that the text says that violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

21:50

We all sort of understand this instinctively, the symbol that's being expressed there. I was thinking recently,

21:57

I haven't slept for about eight months, any really healthy sleep. And, you know, you're up with twins.

22:05

You know, people say like, oh, I wish I had twins. We smile now when we hear that.

22:12

They're such a gift from God. But I'll tell you what, they put you to work. For those of you guys who have twins, respect the parents with twins.

22:18

I'm not saying me yet because I'm new to this. But the people in here who have twins, you're the best parents ever.

22:24

And you should have warned me. Let me just say that. But when you have twins, they're just constantly eating, constantly going.

22:31

And right now they're in such a sweet, amazing stage. But like we're just constantly feeding them and it's milk and milk and more milk.

22:38

And one of the things that I see every single day, all day is I see these beautiful, sweet, amazing little milk covered mouths, right?

22:46

The bottles in and milk just pouring out of the mouth. And they're finished. And it's just all white and drippy.

22:52

And you're going to change the clothes because milk is just pouring down the face. They have milk all over their mouths.

22:57

It's what's covering their mouths. You know what's there because it's all over their mouths.

23:03

You have a child that's eating spaghetti. It's all over their face, all over their mouth, all over their hands.

23:08

And then on your couch, as they wipe their hands all over your couch. Or we know what this looks like.

23:15

Let's say if you were at a party, husband and wife, you're at a party, get together, barbecue.

23:22

All of a sudden the husband disappears out of the room and he comes back 15 minutes later and he's got lipstick on his lips.

23:30

Every wife would go, your mother had better be here. What's on your lips?

23:37

Your lips are giving you away because lipstick is covering your mouth. And so the unbelieving, the wicked, they have this all over their mouths.

23:46

And what we learn here again is that there's no middle ground. It's either a fountain of life or it is covering our mouths with violence.

23:56

So what does a guarded and wise mouth look like? What does wisdom tell us about if I guard my mouth and I have a wise mouth and I have a wise tongue, if I'm seeking to be renewed in my mind and my heart and my life, if I wanna be like Jesus, I'm gonna walk like him,

24:14

I'm gonna glorify and enjoy God with my life and I want my lips to be lips that are pleasing to God and fountains of life.

24:21

What does wisdom look like? Proverbs 8, Proverbs chapter 8. What's a guarded mouth look like?

24:28

Proverbs chapter 8. When wisdom is speaking here in Proverbs chapter 8, note what wisdom says, what wisdom looks like.

24:39

Proverbs 8, verse 6. Hear, for I will speak noble things and from my lips will come what is right.

24:50

From my mouth will utter truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

24:58

All the words of my mouth are righteous. There is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

25:05

They are all straight to him who understands and right to those who find knowledge. All right, so that's a definition from God.

25:13

You don't want Pastor Jeff's tips to a good mouth. You wanna hear what God says, amen, yes?

25:19

So here's the guarded mouth. The wise person guards their mouth and it preserves life.

25:26

The wicked person has a big, wide, open, undefended mouth and it leads to ruin.

25:33

So the wise mouth is a mouth that speaks noble things.

25:38

What comes from the mouth of the wise person is what's right. You speak what's right.

25:46

Your mouth utters truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

25:53

Think about that for a second. It's giving lips sort of a mind there. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

25:59

Wickedness is loathsome to my lips. I don't wanna speak it, it's an abomination.

26:07

I abhor wickedness coming from my lips. That's the guard I set over my mouth.

26:12

My mouth must look like this. The words of my mouth are righteous. There is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

26:19

They're all straight to him who understands and right to those who find knowledge.

26:30

Now, the contrast is between the wise mouth that's guarded and the big open mouth.

26:39

Look at now Proverbs 10 verse eight. What's the contrast between the guarded mouth that speaks the truth, utters the truth, abomination.

26:53

Wickedness is an abomination to the lips. But the wide open mouth, what's it look like? According to Proverbs, Proverbs 10 verse eight, it says the wise of heart will receive commandments but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

27:09

Notice that the wise person receives commands. How do you receive commands? Well, you have to be receptive.

27:16

You're listening. You're trying to understand. You're trying to learn. A guarded mouth belongs to a person that is trying to learn.

27:26

They're trying to listen. They're trying to hear. They're not just speaking, right? They're not always just trying to get a word in and trying to always be the authority, trying to be the boss of the conversation, trying to look like they know it all.

27:39

The wise person is listening to learn. They want to grow. They want to be wise.

27:45

They want to be knowledgeable. They have a guard over their lips. And so they're listening. They're not a scoffer.

27:51

They're not unteachable. They want to grow. They want to learn. They want to see, am I missing something?

27:56

Can I hear something? Teach me, what are the words of God? But the babbling fool will come to ruin.

28:02

The babbling fool has a wide open mouth, no guard, no defense.

28:08

It's big and wide and open and always moving. The babbling fools have wide open mouths.

28:16

They always want to talk. Babbling fools, it's in the word babbling, they run their mouths.

28:24

They're constantly running their mouths. They aren't here to learn. They already know. They want to instruct.

28:31

They want to teach. They want to rule over. You ever run into somebody like that?

28:37

You ever run into a person? You ever run into a person that you almost, you almost try to avoid them, if you're honest.

28:48

You see them coming and you like grab your phone. I got a phone call. I'm going to go this way.

28:53

You try to go the other way because you know that if I get into a conversation with this person, they are going to speak for an hour about 50 things.

29:05

I could literally leave the conversation and they would still be talking. You'll notice at times that as they're talking, it wouldn't even matter if you were standing there because you're not even having a dialogue.

29:18

There's no conversation happening. They are just coming to tell you about things and to tell you how things are and to instruct you and to guide you and to teach you.

29:29

And there's no wiggle room in the conversation because it's all them babbling. And these people at times wonder why they have no friends.

29:38

It's because they can't stop talking. They have big wide open mouths. They're babbling. They never want to hear. Do you know something that I don't know?

29:46

Can I learn something from you? Would you have something valuable and like gold and silver for me?

29:54

The guarded mouth is a person who receives commands. The babbling fool has a wide open mouth and it leads to ruin.

30:02

Finally, Proverbs 18, two on this point. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

30:12

There you go. There you go. There's the wisdom. There's the word from God.

30:18

There's the cutting sharp pointed arrow that goes right, sinks right into our hearts.

30:24

Are we like that? Are we the person that takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing our opinion?

30:30

Are we the babbler? Are we the one with a wide open mouth? Are we the person who has a guarded mouth, who is precise, that wants to utter true things, that hates wickedness?

30:41

It's an abomination to our lips. We only want to speak the truth. We want to know we're guarded.

30:47

We listen to grow and to learn. Now, a guarded mouth versus a constantly open one.

30:56

Go to Proverbs chapter 10, verse 19.

31:07

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent or wise.

31:17

So a guarded mouth is a mouth that is restrained. You hold back, you listen.

31:26

So in Proverbs 10, 19, when words are many, transgression is not lacking. You keep talking.

31:33

You keep speaking. You keep babbling. If your mouth is wide open, transgression is somewhere down the line.

31:39

It's not lacking. It's gonna happen. If you have a wide open mouth, you can't stop talking. You don't restrain your lips.

31:44

You don't have a guarded mouth. There's gonna be sin down the line. But whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

31:52

Do we think as God's people in that way with our mouths? Do we think with precision?

31:59

Do we pause? Do we meditate before we speak? When we're in a conflict with, say, a wife or a husband or children or a brother or sister, do we pause to pray and think and put a guard over our lips before we say that thing?

32:17

That thing that actually reveals what's in our hearts. Our mouths tell what's in our hearts.

32:24

Do we guard? Do we protect? Are we precise? Are we wise with our mouths?

32:31

And so restraining our lips means if you want to be wise, the word is you need to learn to shut up.

32:39

Amen? Yes? The kids love it when I say shut up in church because they're like, that's not supposed to be said.

32:46

I'm just giving to you the word. Wide open mouth, babbling fool. You wanna be wise?

32:52

Learn to shut your mouth. Learn to shut your mouth. If you don't believe me, then go to Proverbs chapter 17.

33:01

Proverbs 17 verse 27. Here it is. Words from God.

33:07

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge. And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

33:14

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

33:22

So here's tips to success for fools. If you would learn to shut your big mouth, people would think that you're a wise person.

33:33

Amen? You guys seem so offended by that. I'm literally giving you scripture.

33:40

The text says you'll look like a wise person and a person of intelligence if you would just restrain your lips, close your mouth, guard your mouth, be thoughtful, be precise.

33:54

Now, it's interesting when Bonson was speaking, particularly on this issue of the mouth and the lips and the tongue from the book of Proverbs, he made a good point

34:03

I wanted to share with you in terms of symbolism. Scripture using this imagery constantly.

34:10

Now, here's the thing. Listen, God only needs to say something one time for it to count, for it to be true and meaningful.

34:18

You can take it to the bank one time. But scripture has God over and over and over again emphasizing my lips, my tongue, my mouth, my throat.

34:28

It is pervasive. It's everywhere. God's saying it everywhere. And so there's this imagery and symbol connected to our mouths and life and death in the tongue.

34:39

And Bonson makes the point that as Christians, oftentimes when we've wanted to alert the world to maybe our own spiritual commitments or when people have thought about Christians and spirituality, they think in terms of imagery and symbols.

34:57

So you have, and I love to wear a cross, a cross that is a sign of who

35:03

Jesus is, what he did for us. And I like to wear a cross at times because it's a way that I can get into a conversation with somebody about Jesus and emphasize the meaning of this behind it.

35:14

So we have the symbol of the cross. And oftentimes the symbol of a spiritual person maybe it's the cross or you might have a dove symbolizing the

35:25

Holy Spirit. You have these images and symbols of what this person is. They're a spiritual person.

35:31

There's a cross. There is a dove or you may even have, you know, a image of a person eating

35:42

Chick -fil -A. They're truly spiritual. They're eating God's chicken, right?

35:48

It may be tasty, but it ain't God's chicken. You know what they put in that stuff? And that's a whole different discussion. But you know what

35:55

I mean? Someone says like Chick -fil -A, that's God's chicken. Like it's a symbol. There's, you know, it's a spiritual business. We have these images that sort of express what it means to be a spiritual person.

36:05

But Bonson made the point that actually if we wanna get at what scripture is talking about in terms of are you really a spiritual person?

36:13

Are you a person who's devoted to Jesus? Are you a person that wants to grow in your relationship with God?

36:19

Are you a wise person? Bonson makes the point that it's not really the symbol of the cross or the dove that should show that spirituality and that commitment you have to living righteously and godly.

36:32

It really should be symbols like with a hand over our mouth or zipped up lips or guards set right in front of our mouths to protect the world from the devastating things that we can do to one another with our mouths.

36:48

I think that was a powerful point to make. When our mouths are guarded, it keeps us from calamity.

36:58

Go to quickly, go to Proverbs 21 to see this. How? The open mouth leads to destruction.

37:07

It leads to calamity. There'd be no way to exhaust this discussion from the book of Proverbs.

37:13

But just as an example, Proverbs 21, verse 23. Whoever keeps his tongue, his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble.

37:30

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble.

37:37

How? How? How? If we guard our mouths and our tongues, how are we kept out of trouble?

37:45

An example from Proverbs itself is Proverbs 26.

37:51

Just as an example to think through and meditate upon. Proverbs 26, verse 20 says, for lack of wood, the fire goes out.

38:02

And where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. So there's a word from God.

38:09

You wanna guard against calamity? You wanna preserve your life? Preserve the life of your neighbor?

38:16

One example of how you guard your mouth and preserve life is that when you do not engage in the whispering and the quarreling and the gossiping, the fire goes out.

38:29

That destruction no longer spreads. Now, many of you guys are older, been walking with Jesus longer than I have.

38:39

You probably have had experiences where you've seen relationships destroyed or even church splits occur.

38:47

You've seen churches that were healthy, thriving churches split, go away and be destroyed.

38:53

And it almost happened like overnight. And in my experience, through what

38:59

I've seen in terms of a church split or churches breaking apart and turning into two churches or whatever the case may be, every time, every example that I have in my own life and what

39:10

I've seen comes down to what people were doing with their mouths and tongues to one another. I saw an entire church, a healthy, thriving church, a healthy, healthy, thriving church essentially go out of existence because it started with a gossiper, a person who was gossiping, a person who was trying to take down other women's dignity in the church.

39:34

And this person was a person attached to somebody in leadership. And that fire set ablaze the entire church.

39:41

And that church ultimately went away and it started with a whisperer. It started with gossip.

39:47

So how does a guarded mouth preserve life and avoid destruction? Well, the fire ceases when you stop saying those things.

39:57

When that kind of wickedness is an abomination to your lips, I won't let it come out of my mouth.

40:04

That's how you preserve your life. That's how you preserve the life of your neighbor, to live in such a way that you see your mouth and lips and tongue as the tool that God says that they are.

40:15

They are either gonna be a fountain of life or they are gonna be a tool for devastation and destruction.

40:21

Brothers and sisters, Scripture says, there's no middle ground of my mouth. I either have a wise mouth or the mouth of a fool.

40:29

Scripture doesn't give me a middle ground there. And so what are you doing with your mouth?

40:35

Now, some motivation for closing our mouths.

40:43

Go to Proverbs chapter 18. Proverbs 18 verse 20.

41:08

From the fruit of a man's mouth, his stomach is satisfied. He is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

41:16

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And those who love it will eat of its fruits.

41:26

That's a very, very convicting verse. Very. Many of you guys walked in today and you knew that verse.

41:33

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. But do we really believe it is the question.

41:41

Do I believe that? God says death and life are in the power of the tongue. I'm either gonna kill someone or I'm gonna make them alive.

41:53

But that's how God talks about my mouth, my tongue. It is that kind of a devastating tool.

42:01

It is a tool that can be used for righteousness, to bring life, to preserve life.

42:08

Or it is a tool that can be used to murder and maim and kill. My mouth is that very tool.

42:18

The power of life and death. You know, right now I know that we are in a weird, weird place as a nation.

42:27

We're in a strange place in so many ways. In terms of immorality and injustice and sin and abandonment of Christian truth.

42:33

We're in such a strange place. Such a strange place. And we have over the last 50 years in this nation, a number of armed conflicts and almost conflicts behind us.

42:46

Many of those unjust. Many of them just in some ways. But, you know, if you were raised in the 60s, 70s or 80s, you probably remember like me those times where we were all thinking that, you know, if something turns rather quickly, we could have a nuclear conflict.

43:10

You know, the movies even have expressed some of those things. Like the movie. Have you seen the movie 13 Days? Movie 13

43:16

Days. I actually encourage you to go look at that day. 13 Days about the Cuban Missile Crisis. It actually is a fascinating point in American history about the

43:25

Cuban Missile Crisis. Many people don't know. I guess many of you didn't. You don't know how close we came as a nation to launching nuclear missiles.

43:35

We came so close and it is an amazing providence of God in a really backdoor way that that conflict actually stopped.

43:45

I do recommend that. But when you think about a moment like that, the Cuban Missile Crisis or a moment we're in right now as a nation where you have

43:53

America unjustly involved in this war with Ukraine, between Ukraine and Russia.

44:01

And yes, I said unjustly. There is a just war theory and a standard for Christians and Christian nations for how we engage in conflict.

44:10

But we're here now. And there's been conversation in the last year from Putin himself threatening us and others with nuclear missiles.

44:26

Now, the reason I'm saying this is we all recognize that over the last generation, this conversation about nuclear missiles is a conversation people tread very carefully with.

44:41

One of the things that was so shocking recently when Putin made that statement about nuclear missiles was the fact that he said it out loud, right?

44:51

I mean, one of the things that you do not want to do when you have a nuclear missile that could evaporate an entire city or an entire state or whatever they can actually do, one of the things you don't do is you don't talk about it flippantly.

45:05

You don't say, I'll launch a nuke at you. People know we have to be careful because this tool is so destructive it can set the world on fire.

45:15

We recognize that if one missile goes out, 10 more come back the same direction.

45:22

And everybody knows about this nuclear winter and that the world will be set ablaze.

45:27

So people are so cautious with this weapon that could set the world on fire.

45:34

There's so many examples over the last generation about how careful people are about these tools of death that we have pointed at other nations.

45:44

You aren't flipping about it. You are careful with it. You are cautious with it. You don't send this thing out because it could destroy everything.

45:53

And people are very cautious. They were cautious about speaking about these missiles because of the destruction and the death and the misery that it could bring.

46:06

But if you think about what scripture says, death and life are in the power of the tongue. And now scripture talks about how deadly our tongues and mouths and lips could be.

46:17

The strange thing is, is if we actually believe that, if we say these are the words of God and that's what

46:24

God says this tool can do, it's strange, isn't it? It's strange that we launch missiles from our mouths every day, freely, carelessly every day.

46:41

Every day, we're not cautious. We don't recognize the devastation that our mouths can bring, the death, the destruction, how our mouths can set our families on fire.

46:55

Our mouths can set our church on fire. Our mouths can set our community on fire.

47:00

We could maim and kill daily as Christians with our mouths. And we aren't cautious.

47:08

We're flippant. We launch every day, continuously, all day.

47:14

We don't protect our neighbor. We don't guard our mouths. We set the world on fire freely with these tools of death without us thought as to the consequences.

47:27

In James chapter three, go there, almost to the end of your Bibles if you're new to the Bible. In James chapter three, we have this well -known, well -known word of wisdom from the brother of Jesus.

47:49

By the way, one of the fascinating things that I think about James is James is

47:54

Jesus' brother. So James grew up with God incarnate. I think that's fascinating in many ways.

48:03

But James is wisdom literature. It's skillful living. How do you do this? And I love that James, the brother of Jesus, gives us this spectacular work on wisdom.

48:12

And not just like, not that there's anything wrong with didactic teaching and narrative, but this is wisdom.

48:18

How do you look like you actually know God? That comes from James, the brother of Jesus. He got to watch it happen.

48:26

You want to know what God's like? You want to know wisdom's like? I walked with him. I know what it looks like to be a wise person.

48:34

I know what that mouth really looks like. I lived with it. I saw it. But in James chapter three, verse one, it says, not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

48:50

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

48:57

If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

49:04

Look at the ships also. Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the will of the pilot directs.

49:14

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

49:22

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.

49:30

The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell.

49:41

For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

49:48

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

49:57

With it, we bless our Lord and Father. And with it, we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

50:05

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

50:11

My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and salt water?

50:19

Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

50:27

See it? Do you see it? Our tongues, our mouths.

50:35

This is the theme of wisdom. Your heart is pouring forth.

50:47

The tool is telling on your heart. It's all over your mouth.

50:55

There's no middle ground. It's either a guarded mouth or a mouth that's covered in violence.

51:02

It's a mouth that will be a fountain of life or it's going to be a source of destruction and evil.

51:09

There is life and death in it. You're either going to heal and bless and praise or you're going to set fire to the world.

51:21

So it's a devastating tool for good and evil, good or evil. And so I think the challenge for all of us is just this, simply this.

51:30

Here's the challenge for each and every single one of us. You think you're spiritual? You hope to be wise?

51:38

You want to truly love and obey God? Then show me how spiritual you are by how you use your mouth.

51:48

Show me how spiritual you are by what you do with your tongue and your lips.

51:54

It's convicting, isn't it? Because if you think back honestly as a follower of Jesus, just be honest with yourself, be honest.

52:02

Don't try to hide your sin. God knows we're all a work in progress. If you think about how you've used your lips just over the last week, how you spoke to your wife, how you spoke to your husband, how you spoke to your children, how you talked about another brother or sister in this body.

52:24

Was it life -giving or was it just to maim and destroy and to kill?

52:32

How do we use our lips? Because you know, truly in the book of Proverbs, like the identifying thing about a person, whether they're really wise, other than of course fear of God is the beginning, all of that.

52:44

Yes, it's all there. It's a network of things. But the book of Proverbs makes it very, very clear that if you're really a wise person, your mouth is going to tell us whether you are.

52:57

If you're really a godly person, we'll know by your lips and your tongue. That's what's going to show it.

53:03

It's not your ugly Christian t -shirt. It's not the

53:08

Christian bumper stickers, right? It's not the face we portray on Facebook and on social media and Instagram, right?

53:16

The real line that shows us, is this a wise person? Am I a wise person?

53:22

Is what I do with my mouth, my tongue and my lips? Is there a guard set over my mouth?

53:29

Or do I have a big, wide, open mouth?

53:40

I think it's important to note one thing as we finish this. In Romans chapter three, go there.

53:48

It's a passage you know well. I hope you do. I hope you do. Because if you're going to preach the gospel to people, you want to preach,

53:54

I think, like Paul. And he's explaining the gospel. You need to know Romans, know

54:00

Romans. So you can take someone through the explanation of the gospel and who Jesus is.

54:06

We know this passage well, right? And in Romans chapter three, I think it's important to note that when

54:14

Paul wants, under divine inspiration, to express what the fall looks like.

54:22

Like what's wrong with us? All of us. All of sin. There's none righteous, none good.

54:28

When the apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, wants to give this expression, this display of what does it look like to be fallen?

54:38

Who are you in the fall? He says this as he's pulling together verses from the

54:43

Old Testament. He says in Romans chapter three, verse 10, As it is written, None is righteous.

54:51

No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside.

54:59

Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one.

55:07

Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive.

55:16

The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

55:26

Isn't that something? Isn't that powerful? That Paul wants to communicate just what's wrong with me.

55:34

Why do I need Jesus? And he identifies the fact that I'm not good.

55:40

I am not righteous. I am not God -seeking. And if you want to look like, if you want to see what

55:46

God sees in you as a fallen person, he sees that your throat is an open grave.

55:54

It stinks of death. That your tongue is used to deceive.

56:03

The poison of asps is under your lips.

56:09

Your mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Praise God for Jesus.

56:18

Amen. If you're in Christ, you have peace with God. You've been forgiven. Jesus took away all your sin.

56:25

You are counted righteous in Jesus. Apart from your works, and God will never count your sins against you. But apart from Jesus, apart from Jesus standing before the throne of God and his perfect justice, this is how

56:39

God views the mouth, the lips, and the throat of every lost person. Like this.

56:46

Which means if I'm a redeemed person, if I'm a child of God, if God lives in me, my mouth should never look like this.

56:56

Amen. We should never have a mouth as Christians, as followers of Jesus, as children of God, as redeemed people that look like this.

57:05

We should have a guard set over our mouths. We shouldn't be babbling fools.

57:11

We should not have big wide open mouths, always talking, always trying to run things, always trying to be the know -it -all and speak.

57:19

We should shut our big mouths. Amen. Let's pray.

57:25

That's a great way to end that, right? Father, I want to thank you, Lord, for your word. Lord, if there was any one thing

57:42

I could ask you for as we pour over your word in this series, of course it would be that we would learn your wisdom, your standards of justice and righteousness.

57:59

But it would be that as we go through your word here, as a body, as a family, that we would be renewed in our minds, convicted, changed, challenged over this tool you've given to us, our mouths, our lips, our tongues, that we would be transformed as your people in such a way that we would be transformed that we look like wisdom has taken effect in all of us.

58:35

I pray, Lord, that as we leave this worship of you today to go home, that by your spirit, you would transform even how we speak to our wives, our husbands, our children, one another, that we would be so convicted over your word and what your word says about our mouths, that that new way with our mouths would begin now, that it wouldn't be full of curses and bitterness.

59:11

It would not be mouths like open graves. They would be mouths that are fountains of life, that we bring life, we bless, and we have mouths that are wise, that speak the truth.