This is a rush transcript.

[00:00:01] Well, if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it up to the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs 18. And if you grabbed a Bible on your way and it's going to be on page 541. We've love going through the proverbs here this past month is a church and something that we love about the proverbs is the wisdom that we gain from the proverbs and we've been searching it. It's better than gold, better than treasure.

[00:00:28] The Proverbs is something that we want to put onto our hearts and that we want to live by. But something we learned as we're going through the proverbs is that you don't listen because the proverbs, they're crying out in the street.

[00:00:39] It's saying, hey, listen to what it is saying. Listen to me, because if you don't, well, then you will become the proverb. And that's something that we've been talking about here at the church. And it's a warning to us that when God says something in his word, when he's saying it and even here in the Proverbs repeating it over and over, over again, hey, it's something that we got to listen to it and we got to look at and really think through. Hey, I want to be making sure that I'm living a way that's pleasing to the Lord. Otherwise, I'm going to become what the Proverbs says.

[00:01:11] So look with me at Proverbs 18:21. It's one proverb. We'll take a trip through the province, will look at many of them. We're going to focus in on what this one is saying right here. It says in verse twenty one of Proverbs, Chapter 18. Death and life are in the proverb.

[00:01:30] I'm sorry. In the power of the tongue and those who love it, we'll eat of its fruits. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

[00:01:42] Now, you can find different statistics on this, you can find out what you know, different things that people are saying, but it's reported that about 15000 to 25000 words a day come out of each of our mouths.

[00:01:56] That's a lot of talking.

[00:01:58] That's a lot of things to say. Collectively, as Americans, we send about a hundred and forty five billion text messages every single day.

[00:02:09] What are we saying with our words? What are we saying when we post things on Facebook? What are we saying when we gather here together today? What are we saying to one another? And the Bible has all kinds of warnings. It has all kinds of things. It tells us what kind of words we're supposed to use, what kind of words we're supposed to have. What kind of words we're not supposed to have. The ones which does that. Stay away from when we gather together as the people of God, the people, the children of God. How is God changed the way that we speak. And if we speak that often, we have to think through what kind of words are we saying? You can jot this down. You don't have to turn their. But Proverbs Chapter 10, verse 19 says When words are many, transgression is not lacking. When words are many, transgression is not lacking. So if we're speaking this many words today, if we're text messaging people all day, we're posting things all day. I mean, transgression is right there waiting for us. And that's a warning. We got to be thoughtful. What are the things that we are saying? What kind of words come out of our mouths when we speak to people? Because this Prova right here is saying that the power that your tongue has. It's the power of death and life. Contrasting two major things. Death and life there in the power, in the things that you say every single day.

[00:03:39] Now turn with me to the book of James James, Chapter three. This is maybe one of the most famous passages on the tongue. When we think about the tongue, we often think of James. Three, If you've gone to church for any amount of time, it's going to be on page 1012. James, Chapter three. And he's going to talk about the destruction that the tongue has, the death part of the Tom.

[00:04:02] And we want to look at this with an even starts off with a great warning here, a warning for people that are teaching, warning for people that are speaking on behalf of God, saying the things that the word says, hey, there's a warning in that because we have to be very thoughtful in the things that we say. Look at James Chapter three. Start with me in verse one. It says not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that the one who teaches Will, he'll be judged with greater strictness. Hey, if you're going to speak on behalf of God, if you're going to stand up and open up the Bible and talk about it and explain what God is saying, hey, be careful.

[00:04:37] Because what you say I mean, you'll be held accountable for what you say. You'll be graded with greater strictness. Verse two four. We all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble on what he says will, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. Now, this word perfect.

[00:04:59] Here is a word that James is already using. You could be saying that if you don't ever sing with your tongue, well, then you're perfect. And we would all say here this morning that nobody is perfect. Right. We've all fallen short. And the things that we have said, we've all fallen short in the things that we have done. Nobody is perfect. But he also uses the same word in chapter one. Go over to chapter one is the page over Chapter one. And let's look at verse two here. What is James saying here when he's talking about this perfection of the tongue?

[00:05:25] He says in verse, To count it all, Joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith, it produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be. There's our word perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, perfect and complete. Hey, is anybody having a hard time during the Corona virus? Does it feel like this is one trial among maybe many trials that have entered into your life? Like it seems like an endless flow of things going bad. Day after day in your life, that's how it feels. Well, James is saying, hey, count it all, Joy, my brothers. Hey, take heart, because this trial that you're going through will, if you will. If it works right, you are going to produce this steadfastness, this perfection. And what it means here is this maturity. Like I'm going to be growing in my faith. If this trial is doing what it's supposed to do in the life of a Christian, what it's going to produce a maturity within me. I'm going to grow through this time. Don't waste the trial. Have joy going through the trial. Because there's this maturity, this completion that's going to grow within you and then you're going to be mature.

[00:06:39] You're gonna come out of that trial in a mature way, growing in your love for the Lord, growing in your love for his people, knowing him better than you ever have before. Hey, take joy through a trial because it's going to have this maturing work in your life. So go back to James Chapter three and let's look what he goes on to say here.

[00:06:58] He says in verse three that if we put Brit bits in the in the mouths of horses, you can give some analogies here so that they obey as well. We guide their whole bodies as well.

[00:07:10] Look at the ships also, though, they are large and are driven by strong winds. They are guided by a very small rudder where ever the will of the pilot directs. So the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. You see, if you want to really grow in Christ, if you want to be mature.

[00:07:34] If you want to be somebody who knows the Lord who is growing in your faith, who's recent presented before God is a mature man or woman of God, well, hey, we should start with our tongue because our tongue is going to direct. The whole body even says back up here in verse two that it's able to bridle the whole body.

[00:07:55] Like, if you just think through today, I'm going to work on the things that I say. I'm going to really examine the things that are coming out of my mouth. I want to be somebody who speaks the words of life. Well, then you're going to be growing in maturity. If you want to be growing. If you want to know the Lord. If you really want to be set apart in a holy way. Oh, hey, let's zero in on the tongue because it has some serious power here now. He goes on to talk about the destruction that the tongue also has. Look at. Look down here, the second half of verse five. It says how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue.

[00:08:40] It is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. 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.

[00:08:55] I mean, there is a strong warning right there on the power that your tongue has.

[00:09:00] And if you look it up on, you can look up on any search engine. If you go and just look up California fires and you'll see the destruction that fire has. I mean, we know we've seen the photos. We've seen that California is going through a rough time when it comes to fires, not only on fires that are being set and lit all over the place, but if you turn on the news, you're going to see what a fire can do to a car dealership to see what fire can do here in America, to your local shop down the street or a couple of grocery stores or a city that's now being lit on fire. And we see the potential that fire has. We see the destructive nature that it brings. It destroys.

[00:09:37] It damages. It kills.

[00:09:41] Remember this one time I was growing up and we lived in this condo apartment kind of complex, were these houses, they're all connected together. We didn't have any driveways, just kind of like you had your garage. And then right there was the street. And it was a great time for me to grow up. It's a great place to grow up. A lot of families, lot of kids running around and kind of we lived on one end of the houses and then all the way down at the other end, there was one of my good friends that lived down there. And I remember one time I walked down to see what he was up to. And my friend and his my brother, they were in there in the garage. And what they had, they would have discovered as I walked up, as they had a rag can of WD 40 and a lighter.

[00:10:24] And you can see where this is going.

[00:10:27] So the WD 40, I mean, what they do is they would spray the rag and, you know, we're super cool. It's like, oh, look at this zigzag Amen. I put on the ragged and you light it and then light the zigzag up looking and it goes away.

[00:10:37] Oh, that was really cool. Hey, let's spell out our names. Right. Reitman's so my name. I'm going to give away who the guy was. Right. And I'm certain to spill letters and then wow by names and fire. This is really cool. Hey, let's see what happens if we just put WD 40 all over it. Let's do that.

[00:10:57] I'd like to think in my mind, this is a part of the story when I walked up. Right. Is that the end of this whole thing? Will they light that thing on fire? And what happens? That rag is toast. And I freak out like what is. I mean, we're inside of a garage. There is a fire. This thing is this rag is now going from something that was fun and cool to something that is scary and dangerous. And my brother, I still to this day, don't know if this was a good call or bad call, but my brother, he takes that rag and he just puts right out the garage door and I just see fire flying across like a fireball, real life fireball in front of my eyes.

[00:11:34] And I freak out. I am terrified. And luckily, there was no one out there, luckily, there's no car driving by. But I wonder what would have happened if there was what would have happened if instead of kicking it outside?

[00:11:51] We let it sit there and we all ran away scared, which is what I did. I ran down the house. I ran over my mom. Mom, can I have some water, please? By time I got back, the fire was out. My brother, I think he got wiser and you put a bucket over it and just sizzles right up. What would have happened if that fire would have cut? And that house would have burned down because not only would that guy be homeless, but all of our neighbors as well, because that thing would have just took off live every house on fire.

[00:12:18] I mean, how many? People have been destroyed, damaged because of the words that we say. I mean, how many marriages are destroyed because of the words that people say to one another in secret? I mean, how many awkward family dinners, how many people won't even go to spend time with their family on Thanksgiving because, hey, we're we don't get along because it's something that you said years ago. And we don't come and confess our sins, we don't come and apologize. No, we just want to linger. We want to tear people down with the things that we say. I mean, how many families have been destroyed because of the words that we say? How many kids? Grow up with this horrible sense of what the family is because of the words that their parents are saying to each other, to them. I mean, a ton. We have to realize that the tongue is damaging and when the Holy Spirit is using. James here to talk about the tongue, what he's using is this idea of a fire. It's a warning. He's telling us this is this this is strong language. You need to be careful about what you say. Let's put this down for point number one. We need to see the tongues, potential for destruction. See the tongues, potential for destruction.

[00:13:46] And after you write that down, let's let's look down at verse nine here, because he's going to adjust us. The brothers and sisters, the people of God, and he's going to talk to us and say, this is how dangerous the tongue is. Look at verse nine. He says with it. We bless our lord and father. And with it, we curse people who are made in his likeness.

[00:14:10] Four from the same mouth come blessing and cursing my brothers. These things are not to be so does a spring pour forth from the same opening. Both fresh water and salt can a fig tree.

[00:14:26] My brothers bear all loaves in a great vine, produce figs. Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Hey, it makes no sense for some stream of flow, right? Some river to have both freshwater and saltwater. That doesn't make sense.

[00:14:44] Makes no sense. My brother's for you to stand here today, to come into church to say behold our God seated on his throne, to worship him from the abundance of your heart. And then you get in your car, you go home and you start tearing your family down with your words.

[00:14:59] It doesn't make any sense. Those two things don't go together.

[00:15:04] And James is saying, when you speak, it's like you're worshiping God on one hand and then on the other hand, you're cutting people down who are made in his likeness, in his image.

[00:15:13] Those two things don't go together at all. They don't make any sense. My brothers, may it not be so here. What the word is saying. We can't talk that way. Let's go to the Book of Proverbs and let's look through some of the way, some of the examples.

[00:15:29] Of the tongue and its deadliness, go to Proverbs Chapter twelve. You can find it on page five hundred and thirty six, Proverbs Chapter twelve. And we're going to go through a couple of proverbs here in a dig through them. And we're going to look through and see some different ways that the tongue can destroy different ways that as the tongue can bring death. This is Proverbs Chapter 12. We're gonna start here in verse 18.

[00:15:56] It says.

[00:15:58] There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise. Well, he brings healing.

[00:16:09] With the proverbs do over and over again is they they can't they contrast the two different sides and say, hey, this is how a righteous person is going to live. This is how the unrighteous person is going to live. This is how the wise person is going to talk. And this is how the foolish person is going to talk. And right here, what it's telling us is that when you use Rasche words, it's like a sword thrusting through somebody.

[00:16:33] You realize it. Those are the things that you say that you could be killing somebody. Are you killing your spouse, By the way, that you talk?

[00:16:45] Me show up here at church and everything's good. We put on a good face to go to small groups, say the right things, do the right things, and we get home and we cut down people.

[00:16:54] We cut down our families. We cut down our wives. We come after each other like a sword thrusting through. I mean, the next time that you have this anger builds up inside of you and you want to just speak out, you want to people are the way that things are going or not the way you thought that. You're just getting angry and tempted. I mean, you need to stop and just remember that when you speak in an angry way, it's coming out of your mouth and it's hitting somebody. It's hitting the person that you're directing that to. As well as many others maybe who are listening to you talk in that household. And so when we are tempted to be angry and to use our words in a way that is malicious and cutting people down. Just remember that you're taking a sword out of its sheath and you are stabbing somebody with it. I mean, that is an intense thing to think. That is an intense thing to say as a product. And look what it goes on to say. Here's the contrast. But if you use your words in a wise way, it brings healing.

[00:18:01] The things that you say. They can bring death, but, hey, they can also bring life. There's healing in the power of your tongue.

[00:18:11] That was anger, let's go over to Proverbs Chapter 18, just flip a few pages over to the right Proverbs Chapter 18. And let's think of this one.

[00:18:24] This is a this is a very devastating one.

[00:18:28] One that, unfortunately, is hurt many people even here at church Proverbs, Chapter 18, look at verse eight, it says The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels. They go down into the inner parts of the body. The words of a whisper.

[00:18:46] You know that song out gossip.

[00:18:49] When I gossip about somebody and you know, it's gossip was when you're saying something bad about somebody and then so-and-so walks up.

[00:18:58] The person that you're speaking bad about in and also on your lips start to equate. You start whispering a little bit. I don't want them to hear what I'm saying. I want not just them, but anybody else to hear this conversation, because I'm over here talking bad about somebody. And the deadly part about this, this gossip is that here at church, we don't gossip. We just share prayer requests. Right. Hey, can you pray for so and so because they're going through a really hard time with this sin.

[00:19:27] Really?

[00:19:29] Like, if you're really that concerned about have you tarried in prayer for that person, have you stayed up late praying for that person? We need if we're going to pray for people, let's do it. And if somebody is living in sin, Will, there's a way that we're supposed to conduct ourselves in the church. Have you gone and talked to that person? Is that person unrepentant in their sin? Well, then there you can bring in the brother sister. Go talk to them again. But this is well beyond this is well before that I'm going to gossip about then I'm going to tear them down and to say something bad about them. I mean, people, churches, people leave churches over this. Churches are separated over things like this. When we speak in a way that isn't uplifting anyone, we're cutting people down. We're sharing secrets. We're whispering to one another and we're gossiping about people. If you have a problem with somebody, go and talk to him about it. Talk to the Lord about it. Don't talk to other people here about it. Don't bring in other people. And if somebody ever walks up to you and says to you, hey, don't tell anybody this blight. I mean, right there, you're you have the option, if you're hearing it, to be a listening ear or I mean, you can something out there, hey, is this like what is this about?

[00:20:41] Because there's some things we might want to do, some exciting things we might want to share. Hey, don't tell anybody, but oh, be exciting. But oftentimes they don't tell anybody this. But did you hear about what happened? Did you hear about so and so. And don't be listening year to that, don't be somebody who's going around gossiping, don't bring somebody else into somebody else's problems. Go and talk to them about it. Pray for them. And encourage them to be honest and confess.

[00:21:09] Yeah, I wonder if you just pick a relationship. Maybe it's your spouse and the people that you interact with. Maybe here at church, maybe at your work.

[00:21:19] If they only knew your spouse, by the way, that you spoke about them, would they think good things about your spouse or bad things about your spouse?

[00:21:29] If if people only heard you speak about your boss or your coworkers or pick a relationship, your neighbors, people here at church, your fellowship group leader, if they only heard what you had to say about them, would they think that person? Would they have bad thoughts about that person even though they'd never met them before? You want to make sure that our words aren't tearin people down, that we're not whispering as we're talking with other people, go over to Proverbs Chapter 19 and might just be right on the next page here. Proverbs Chapter 19. Look at verse nine. Proverbs Chapter 19. Verse nine says a false witness will not go unpunished. And he who breathes out lies will perish. Lying. Saying things that are not true, things that are false, and we like I don't understand this. We like to color code our lives, don't we? Oh, this one is just a white lie. It's no big deal. A white lie on. He's getting a little gray, so it's not that bad. I mean, it's a little gray, but hey, the black ones I'm going to stay away from those lies are bad lies, right? Proverbs, Chapter twelve.

[00:22:38] You have to turn their appropriate Chapter 12, verse 22 says that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. They're an abomination. God hates it when we lie. When we spread falsehood. And when we lie, it's never for the other person's gain. It's always for our gain, isn't it? It's to make us look good. It's to make someone think highly about us. It's to put somebody else down as we speak bad about them. I mean, when we lie, it's not for anybody's game, but our own.

[00:23:09] Maybe you got you did something at work. You messed up. You're not a perfect person. You messed up. And instead of coming clean about it, you're going to lie about it. You're gonna cover it up. You're not going to speak the truth of what really happened. You're gonna start spreading lies about it the next time that you're tempted to lie. Just remember how much God hates it when we lie. He hates it. And God can do so much with the truth, even if it costs you something, even if it costs you your job or something big that you think is a huge mountain and then you climb in, that you did and you're going to. You're on the potential of losing that. Just remember that, God, he is pleased when you speak the truth. And no matter what happens as a result of you speaking the truth, God's gonna be pleased and he is in control and he's going to bring good from it.

[00:23:57] We got to stop lying. We've got to stop saying harmful things with our mouth covering up. Sin Proverbs, Chapter 26. Let's keep going here. Proverbs Chapter 26. Look at verse twenty eight. Proverbs, Chapter 26 20th, this actually touches on line and then it talks about something else that maybe we don't really consider as lying very much like what this says.

[00:24:21] Private Schepper, 28. Two, I'm sorry. Twenty six, verse 28, Proverbs 26 28 says that a lying tongue hates its victims and a flattering mouth works, ruins flattery.

[00:24:37] Flattery is not bad, flattery is when I say something good about somebody, right? Flattery is when I put both you up. I see something go, wow, look at what you did.

[00:24:46] And then I get in the car and I tell my wife, yeah, that, yeah, that was bad. You see what that person did?

[00:24:52] I mean, flattery is when we say something good about somebody, but we don't believe that it's even true.

[00:24:57] It's a form of lying. We plus people up. We say, great job. Look what you did. Awesome. You're awesome. You're great. But we don't believe it. Flattery. And it says you that the lying tongue, it hates its victims and the one who's going to flatter. Well, that's going to work. Ruin the next time that you're tempted to say something you know is not true. But it might puff somebody up. Just remember that flattery is going to work. Ruin. It's not something that we should say. Go back. You can maybe look here at the same page, but chapter six, look at verse 22 of Proverbs, chapter 26. Oh, I'm sorry. Verse 18. 18 year. Just back a few verses. It says, like a mad man who throws firebrand's and arrows. And death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, Aha. I was only joking, bro. I was joking. I mean, look at this list. He throws firebrand's arrows and he throws death. It's the person who is cutting people down. Is this crude kind of joking going to cut somebody down?

[00:26:03] I'm going to make light of the things that my savior died for. I'm going to maybe make jokes that are are inappropriate. I'm going to cut somebody down with my words and at the end of it and say, hey, bro, I was just joking. I mean, how many times have we said that I was joking?

[00:26:17] Don't be offended. Why are you offended? It's like we're offended that they're offended. Because I was just joking. Well, maybe it's because of what we said. Maybe we got to stop making jokes that are crude, things that are inappropriate, things that we wouldn't dare say here in front of one another. And, you know, the mouse that we have at work, if they're not the same as here at church. Well, then there's some problems there. And we can't cover it up by saying, hey, I was just joking. It was a joke. Why are you so upset about it? Why are you so upset about the things that I said is a joke? So big deal. It's not going to hurt anybody. When we say crude things, we say things that are damaging. We say things that are inappropriate and we laugh about them. Hey, I was only joking. We got. We can't do that. And I guess while we're in the neighborhood here, look at 27, verse two, it says, Let another praise you, private chapter 27, verse two, and not your own mouth. A stranger and not your own lips. How about boasting? We boast with our tongues. I mean, this is I mean, I have to say repeatedly to my my kids and my kid, you know, we've got my kids. They like to color. They're young. They like to do certain things. I'm like, wow, buddy, that's. You did a great job here. Good job. I love it. Look at you staying in the lines better than you were yesterday. Look at that. And he says, you know what? I am good at this. Look how good I am at this or you'll come running inside, right? Hey, Dad, look how good I am at this.

[00:27:42] And I got to remind him, hey, buddy, let let me in. Mommy praise you, okay? We don't want you to praise yourself. I mean, let another praise. You don't boast. Don't boast in yourself. Have a humble mind, a humble attitude, because after all, John Fifteen tells us that apart from Jesus, how many things can we do? Nothing. When you do nothing apart from him, nothing good comes from us. So I'm not going to boast in the things that I've accomplished, the things that I do. I want to give glory to God. Says Here, let another praise you. Not a flattery kind of way. A false way, insincere way.

[00:28:19] Let another praise you. Look over at Proverbs, Chapter 28. Proverbs, chapter 28, verse 13, because if you see yourself anywhere in this list. And that was discouraging you here, convicting you here. Feel bad about maybe the things that you have said? I mean, look at Proverbs chapter 28. Look at verse 13.

[00:28:42] It says whoever conceals his transgression. Well, that person's not going to prosper if you're going to cover it up. They're going to hide it. You're going to lie about it. Well, you're not going to prosper. But he who confesses and for sake's then will, he will obtain mercy.

[00:29:01] You see, when I'm honest about my sin and I'm open about the things that I've said and I come to a brother, maybe I show up at Fellowship Group and I come ready and I say, hey, this is the way that I've been speaking to my spouse this week.

[00:29:13] It's wrong. I confessing it.

[00:29:16] And not only am I confessing it, but right here I forsake it. I'm turning away from it. I'm leaving it behind. I'm going a different way. I'm not going to talk that way anymore. I'm in to change my words from going from death to life. I'm going to forsake that. We'll hear it says that person is going to obtain mercy.

[00:29:33] You won't be forgiven for the things that you've said. The Lord is ready to forgive. And when we get honest about our words and we confess our words to the Lord. To a brother, to a sister here at the church. There is healing in that confession.

[00:29:47] We do that so we can pray for one another.

[00:29:50] No doubt you, but I've been a part of a lot of different groups, a lot of different times, and we started meeting last week. Anybody excited back to meet at their fellowship group? Amen is good. Time out on out on the grass. You picked a nice comfy park around the corner, and we had the biggest, awkward, most awkward, socially distant circle I've ever been a part of. It was ginormous, is huge. We can even talk to each other all. Cost is so big. We had to break it up. Men and women. Hey, let's go over here. Spread out.

[00:30:14] And I'll tell you, that was a good group to be a part of. That was fun. That was a group that I walked away from encouraged because people didn't show out of.

[00:30:22] I mean, last week we talked about really loving one another, really considering one another. And last week at our group, we had guys ride away. One guy stands up and he says, hey, I want to apologize to all of you because I have not loved you the way that this is telling me to love you.

[00:30:38] And he starts confessing. He starts saying, I assume that you guys knew that I loved you, but I really, after soul searching after is kind of looking at my conduct over the last couple months, I've realized I'm not showing you that at all. Not showing you that that I love you. I'm just assuming that you already know that. And he said and he says, hey, I have to confess this and I'm sorry, guys. Now, what did we do? Start judging and throwing rocks at him. How dare you? You don't love us? No. We were a man. We forgive you. Thank you for sharing that. And you know what usually happens in these groups when one person confesses sin? Well, all of a sudden, more people are more bold to start confessing sin. Have you ever seen that before? Also, a guy sitting three, three, three people down. Right. Which is what? Twenty six feet or something? Just right over here.

[00:31:24] He says, you know, I need to confess to I have not loved you guys the way that we're called to love one another. I don't love you guys that way. I again, I assume that you guys knew. And when I realized it, when I look at how often I hit you guys up, how often I think about you and pray for you. Yeah, I, I'm not showing that I love you. I'm sorry.

[00:31:45] Well, then what happens? Somebody else to my right. Hey, I have to confess to. I mean, it was a good group to be a part of.

[00:31:53] And we've all been a part of the groups where we're just saying the right thing if you're being a part of that group. We're just saying everything. Yeah, we know the answer. Here's the right answers.

[00:32:01] The answer that we're supposed to give here at church. Right. How about the real answer? Those are the groups. So I remember the groups that I remember the groups that are my favorite, the groups I really see the lord at work is when people show up and they're ready to confess sin that's going on their life.

[00:32:16] Nobody here is perfect. Why are we so afraid to share that? Why can't we share our sin? Because when I share my sin, when I confess it, well, then you guys can be praying for me. Confessing my sin isn't so that the other people in the group can go and talk bad about me behind my back. They can get in the car and start sharing it with their wife. No, the people that I'm confessing to, those are my brothers. Those are my sisters. And I'm going to confess that so that they can pray for me so that there can be healing. There is this work of God where there's this healing. When I confess my sins to other people, why are we hiding?

[00:32:50] And we've got to confess it. And that group does a good group to be a part of. And I'm excited to come back this week and see how we are going to confess. Maybe some of the things that we've talked about here go over to a Friesians Ephesians Chapter four.

[00:33:04] This is page nine hundred and seventy eight, Ephesians Chapter four. And I can remember a time when I was teaching some kids and I sat them down.

[00:33:15] This maybe like some four year olds, five year olds and just little guys. Right.

[00:33:20] And then I was teaching them and I asked him, I said, hey, what is something that, you know, that is powerful? What's something that's got some power? And the first little girl, she looks up at me and she says, God. I said, we are starting off on a good note. Yes. God. God is powerful. Great answer. And then this other little guy, he says, oh, you know, it's powerful, Mr. Taylor. An earthquake. An earthquake. We forgot. We don't know how to do that. T8 yet. Earthquake drill a couple. S on the end of the earthquake. Oh, really? Why is an earthquake so powerful? Well, because an earthquake, it can destroy a house. Wow. That is pretty powerful. We've seen some damage that earthquakes do. And, you know, that gets the ball rolling, of course. And then the next person says, we know what else can destroy a house, a tornado. Well, the power that it has a tornado has. Did you know that there can be multiple tornadoes at one time? Wow. Really? OK. So those things can destroy those things, can destroy even a house, they're so powerful. When I looked at all of them encouraged by the sermon and I said, hey, what about the tongue? And you should have seen the confusion on their face. They sat there for about three seconds, total silence with this look on their face and said, Mr. Taylor, a tone can't destroy a house. What are you talking about? How is that powerful?

[00:34:52] And I said, what if there was an earthquake that was so powerful? What if there was a tornado that was so strong that as it was spinning, it started spinning the opposite direction and instead of destroying the house, it actually built that house up with that big, powerful tornado.

[00:35:06] Have you ever seen an earthquake do that where it builds a house? I mean, I've never seen that before. And I think at that point, I just lost them all completely.

[00:35:19] You see the tongue. Not only does it have death. Not only does it have potential to destroy and to tear down and to burn and damage, but it also it has the power to give life. It has the power to give life. That's what the props are telling us. The way that you speak matters and you can give life with your tongue. Look at. Look at a Fenians chapter for Paul, as Paul is writing here in the first three chapters, all about who you who Christ is, what he's done. The second three practically. Now who I am in Christ. And who makes this contrast here between the old you and the new you? Look at verse twenty two of Ephesians, chapter four. He says, Put off your old self, which belongs to the former manor of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and to put on the new self which is created after the likeness of God and truth, righteousness and holiness, true righteousness and holiness. Hey, put off that old self and put on the new self, which is made in the likeness of God's image, which is a true and righteous and wholly put on that person. Put on that. And then look, when he goes right in to say after saying put off the old and put on the new look at verse twenty five, therefore put away all falsehood is going right after the tongue and let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor. And right away, you're from old to new, the old self. You were dead in your sins. Now you're made alive in Christ. Well, that's going to change the way that you talk. Speak the truth. I mean, if you jump down to verse 31, he talks about slander. If you go back up diverse 26, he talks about anger. If you jump over to chapter five verse, too, he talks about crew joking filthiness. I mean, he's going after the tongue. He's saying, this is how you used to live, will now live like this. Used to talk like this, will now talk like this. Look at verse twenty nine. Let all corrupting talk come out of your mouths. Let. I'm sorry. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths. Don't let it happen. Cover your mouth. Bite your tongue. Do not let that corruption that rotten speech. Don't let it come out of your mouth.

[00:37:34] But only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear. When you're tempted to say something that you know is wrong, something that is fueled by anger, something that's going to cut down and destroy. Hey, cover your mouth, bite your tongue. And instead. Use your words to build up other people, you know, if we can get this idea in our minds. It would change the way that we speak. If we can get the idea in our minds that my words are not for me, but they're for other people, we would change the way that we talk. You see, when I'm angry and I'm venting, I'm I'm expressing my frustration, things that are going on with me. It's all selfish when I'm gossiping and I'm tearing somebody down or I'm slandering or I'm talking good. I'm spreading lies. Who is that benefiting me? Making other people think of me as a different way. The unflattering people think I'm a nice guy. This guy is so nice. He's always so positive. He's always saying such good things. Well, that's really puffing me up. It's for my gain is for my benefit. When I'm flattering, when I'm lying, when I'm saying things that are true. If we could talk in a way. That isn't about me, but it's about the people that I'm talking to. I mean, that'll change the game right there. Have you considered the things that your power, your tongue has the power to say after this service? We're all going to we're going to be talking to each other. We're going to maybe say hi to something we haven't seen in a while. Maybe somebody we have seen, maybe a new person we've never met here before. And the power that your tongue has to give life in that moment.

[00:39:21] A move that sees that opportunity, your power, your tongue has power in that moment to give a life, to strengthen, to come alongside somebody, to build somebody up in the truth of who God is and what he has done. And the moment that you speak to somebody, you can build them up. You can lift their soul literally up to heaven where this person is now getting off their circumstances. They're so focused on what's going on in the world, they're downcast, they're depressed.

[00:39:48] And you can come along and you can lift them up to God and you can speak to them in a way that has no benefit for you. No thought in what you're saying for yourself. Put it. It's going to help the person that you're speaking to. It's going to give them life. You see, that's the way that the church is called to live. That's the new you when you can speak to a person and the power that your tongue has to give life to bring healing. I mean, that's a powerful thing. You can literally change somebodies mood by directing them to what's real, what's true, who God is and the things that he done. We got to use our tongue for that. We've got to use our tongue to build up other people. I just want to encourage you that the things that you say today, right after the service, when you go home to your family, those things they matter and the things that you say you can change the way you can change somebodies day, by the way, that you talk, can really help them. Can really bring got a lot of glory, by the way, that you talk.

[00:40:51] But the things that you say to one another.

[00:40:54] You know, last week we were in the Book of Hebrews was one of the cross references we looked at and we talked about that last week, our groups. And it said and Hebrews Chapter 10 to consider one another, how to stir them up to love and good deeds. To consider then when you go to your group, when you show up here at church, I'm going to consider somebody else. I'm going to think through the people that confess their sin at my small group. I'm going to be praying for them throughout the week. And then when I see them, I'm going to ask them, hey, how are you doing? In a sincere way. Hey, when I show up here to church, I'm not going to grumble about things that are out of my control. Now I'm going to use my words, my tongue. I'm going to build somebody up. I'm going to consider the other people. I mean, I consider the people that across the aisle. I'm going to consider the people at my group. Like if we show up to our fellowship groups this week, considering one another, how I can stir them up to love Jesus. I mean, that's going to be a great group right there. Well, not just coming, hopefully I say something good. I don't really know, I mean, say what are the questions here on the back? What are those? No, I'm really coming. I'm considering each other. I'm going to build somebody up today. I'm going to take one person and think of one person. I mean, consider that person. I mean, think how can I stoke the fires in this person to love Jesus more? I'm going to consider that guy. I mean, consider that lady. Go with me to the book of Hebrews Pagoda. Chapter three. Hebrews Chapter three. Because the power of life that is in your tongue. I mean, it has eternal ramifications of things that you say, did you know that you can speak to somebody in such a way that would give them life, eternal life? That would actually make an impact a thousand years from now. You can say something today that would echo forever.

[00:42:41] Look at what it says here in the Hebrews. Chapter three is page 1000 to look at verse 12. It says, take care, brothers.

[00:42:49] Let's there being any of you an evil, unbelieving, hard, leading you to fall away from the living God, but exhort one another every day as long it is. Call today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. This word exhort, it means to come alongside of to call alongside. It's like that idea that I've got a weak knee and it's it needs help.

[00:43:20] It needs support and needs that knee brace and what that knee brace says as it comes alongside. And it gives that support so that I keep walking, I can keep running.

[00:43:29] And what he's saying here, the author of Hebrews, is saying that that people may be tempted to have this evil, unbelieving heart and the things that you say when you come alongside of them and you, Paraka Layo, you strengthen them, you encourage them, you build them up. Well, you can be the difference between a person falling away from the living God and the person who continues to walk in faith. And we believe that God is sovereign. We believe that God is in control, that he is the one who saves his sanctifies. He justifies that when I go to see him in glory. The only reason why I'm going to say I'm there is because of what Jesus did. But in his sovereignty and the way that he works in his providence, he's going to use your tongue to keep people from falling away. That is a powerful thing. Have you considered that? Have you considered that your tongue, the way that you come to fellowship group, the way that you walk into work, the way that you talk to believers here at this church can be the difference between them being built up. Strengthen, encourage or they can keep.

[00:44:34] They can keep going down the path and they can end up falling away. I mean, who is having a hard time here at this church? And they're maybe not able to gather here with us. Maybe they've been a while away for a while. The Corona virus has been some that's been very difficult. It's made them feel depressed or alone. And they haven't seen people in a while. Maybe they're high risk, not able to come out with us here at the church. I mean, is there somebody that, you know, that used to be here at this church? And if you haven't seen them awhile, can you call them? Can you encourage them to say, hey, how are you doing? I really want to love you. How are you? This is no benefit for me. This is about you. I care about you because the way that you talk to them could be the difference between them falling away and seeing them side by side. When we're seeing Jesus face to face.

[00:45:27] I mean, the things that you say.

[00:45:30] They really matter. Proverbs, Chapter 18. You don't have to turn there. But Proverbs, chapter 18, verse two. It says that the fall is only interested in his own opinion. Are you interested in only what you have to say, things that you want to talk about?

[00:45:49] Or are you going to call alongside somebody? You're going to think about somebody and you're going to hit them up and you're going to say, I love you.

[00:45:56] I care about you. I miss you. How are you doing? You see, your words have this amazing potential for building up.

[00:46:05] A couple months ago, we were getting ready to do this thing called the Kids Summer Challenge. We were very excited because for a long time we haven't been able to see the kids. We've just been, you know, doing everything with videos and the kids. Summer challenges can be kind of a mixture of both videos and in-person activities that we're going to be able to do with the families. And I was getting ready to make a video and I was trying to promote it and I was trying to help people kind of understand what it is. And I wanted people to get excited about it because I wanted the church to be built up for people to be encouraged. And I was having a really difficult time trying to put together a video I've ever had that. Have you had the. Were you just like you hit a wall and you can't think and there's nothing that you had no creativity at all. That's most of the time for me. But at this moment, it was big, it was hard. And I went to the park at Central Park. So I want to give this impression that we're not going to be inside the building like we all the videos up until this point have been. No, we're gonna get outside. We're in enjoy the beautiful air. We're gonna get to see each other safely. And so I started filming this video outside, just me and my iPhone. And I realized after 30 minutes of messing up and doing it over again and I played it back. And what was wrong with it? The audio was just toast. The wind was blowing. We had that beautiful breeze that we all love come through. And that video was destroyed. It was it was useless. I don't have the cool, you know, boom like operator that falls Pastor Bobby around. No, it's just me and my phone and that phone.

[00:47:28] There wasn't very good audio and I think I'm sure I was really discouraged. Like, man, what am I going to do? How do I I make I don't make it clear and come across. What we're gonna do is gonna be fun. We're gonna be safe. We're gonna have a good time. It gets people really excited about it. And I was I was having a hard time. I got back in my car, I seen their God, what do I do? Where am I going to go? Where do I film this? I don't want to go inside. And right then I get a phone call from my when the brothers in my fellowship group and he calls me up and I'm like all what I want. What do you need? Hey, what's up? How you doing? What's going on? And he says, Oh, I'm just I'm just on my way to work and I'm just calling to see how you're doing. I mean, timely. Right. It's like, you know, it's from the Lord. It's like perfect timing. God, as usual.

[00:48:09] And this guy, he's just he he all he wanted to do is see how he's doing. And through that conversation, a quick five minute conversations. Guy had five minutes on the way to work. He decides I'm going to call Taylor and what he does with his words. That moment is he really encourages me. We just talk. We just talk about the Bible. We talk about things going on. So then we got our scripture that day. I mean, it is so encouraging. I shared how hard it's been and what I was going through in that moment. And he was like, dude, I'm going to pray for you.

[00:48:35] And those words that he gave me right then were just filled with life. I mean, they totally changed my attitude. It was so helpful, too. I mean, it was so encouraging to hear that he chosen that moment to call me. I mean, that was that was something that the Lord used in that moment for me. And it was it was Osman who is somebody that you can call. You have five minutes. Call him. Put it put it down like this for point number two. Put it down like this purpose your words to build up others purpose, your words to build up others, you can tear down with your words. We've got to be aware of what they are. We've got to see the destruction that they cause. We need a purpose to build up other people by the things that we say.

[00:49:20] You know, we've been looking at the book of Peter and something that's been really need for me to read in Peter's, I see the maturity that Peter has where we get to see him as a disciple and a lot of times, period, and always say the right thing. Right. Sometimes Peter said some weird things in the Gospels. You can read them. He's got his foot in his mouth. And Peter doesn't say always the right thing. But, you know, in John Chapter six, Peter says something that it was. It was the right thing to say. Peter. Peter has this quote in John Chapter six, because Jesus is teaching the people he's got all these crowds are coming to see him and he's saying some hard things, hard for people to understand. And the people they leave Jesus say this is too hard for me to get. I'm not going to grow with this anymore. And the people they leave Jesus, they leave what he's saying. I don't want any part of it. And Jesus turns to his disciples and he looks at them and he says, Are you going to leave me to.

[00:50:07] And Peter, you guys know the story. He says, where else shall we go, Lord, for you have the words of what eternal life, life like the things that you say.

[00:50:19] You're the person I want to listen to. You're the person I want to be around because your words are the words of eternal life. You see, I wonder if we were going to pass around the MICU today. Who would say your name like you are the person that comes to their mind. You are the one who encourages them. You are the one who shares life with them. And you are the one who shares eternal life with them.

[00:50:43] Who would say your name? Who are you encouraging? Who is the person that you're coming alongside of and what Peter says here? I mean, that's something that we got.

[00:50:52] I mean, if you have the words of eternal life, if you have been set free and you've gone from the old you to the new you, and you have a new relationship with Jesus Christ, because what he has done in your life, you now have the words of eternal life. You have the words that are going to change the future, that are going to echo throughout all of eternity.

[00:51:13] You have the gospel, the good news, and you can share that with people. You can bring the gospel to people. You can talk to them about how Jesus that he is the Christ who died for their sins.

[00:51:27] All that anger, all that gossip, the lying, the filthiness that comes from our mouth. I mean, America is at an all time low when it comes to our mouth.

[00:51:36] I mean, it is scary to think of the judgment that's coming upon us, because the way that we talk here in America and you you have the words of eternal life and you can come and you can share with them the gospel.

[00:51:52] I mean, my dad. He grew up in a household that they didn't share the words of eternal life. They didn't share the words of like my dad, you grew up in a house, it wasn't a Christian home, and he didn't know who God was in around 17.

[00:52:06] He he got a job as a cook at some restaurant. And this guy there that was working with him while he had the words of eternal life.

[00:52:14] And that guy decided that he was going to share them with my dad. Using to tell my dad what Jesus had done for him and that he can live a new way because of what Jesus has done. And my daddy heard the words of eternal life, and you know what he did.

[00:52:28] I'm good. No, thanks. I wanna hear that.

[00:52:33] And over time, they work together for over a year. And as they're working together, my dad not only is this guy sharing the words of eternal life, but this guy's different like this guy. He knows what to say. And as you get to know somebody for that long of time, you start to kind of get to know them. I work in this guy. He doesn't talk like the rest of us talk. He isn't a joke at the same things. You can laugh at the crude things that we're saying in that kitchen.

[00:52:57] No, this guy's different. And about a year later, my dad, he goes to this really hard time because his brother dies, his brothers in his twenties, and he dies. My dad's older brother. And who does my dad turn to in this time of confusion and hurt and trial? He hasn't turned to the people that don't have life. He turns that guy in the kitchen. He goes and talks to him because this guy has words of eternal life.

[00:53:27] Hey, where am I going to go when things get hard? Who have you shared the gospel with? Who's rejected it?

[00:53:34] And you continue to love them and be a good witness to them. And when the hard times come and they come to you because you have a words of eternal life, your words are different. My dad went back to this guy and they started talking from John and he started sharing to him who the Good Shepherd was and how the sheep follow him and how he laid down his life for the sheep. My dad here penciling believes in the gospel.

[00:53:58] My dad is saving his.

[00:54:01] He's a man. He's a man of worth imitation. He's a man that loves the Lord even to this day. My dad. He's totally different because this guy decided I'm not going to hide the words of eternal life. No, I have and I'm going to share them. I'm going to be bold as a lion.

[00:54:14] I'm going to tell this guy that he needs to repent from his sin and he needs to turn to Christ because that's the only way he's going to ever have life.

[00:54:21] It's the only way he's ever going to be able to use his words to build up other people. The frustration that comes, I'm sure, from people who don't have the two, don't have the words of eternal life, have never been saved by the gospel. They want to encourage people in they're not able to do it because they're unable to because Jesus hasn't set them free from them.

[00:54:38] That must just be so frustrating. Now, is this person is changed. Well, he's changed for ever. And now that's trickled down to all of my family, to my my whole family, my brothers and sisters. My parents have six kids. I'm one of six.

[00:54:53] And all of us have now professed faith in our adult years. Yeah. Praise the Lord for what he has done.

[00:55:02] And go with me to the Matthew Chapter twelve, because Jesus talks about this idea of the heart and how it's connected to what we say and the things that, well, we say, well, they matter.

[00:55:13] And, you know, my family, I grew up in a household where I was taught very young.

[00:55:21] You know, I grew up in church.

[00:55:23] I grew up hearing the words and, you know, when thinking about family and now I have my own family and I've got a couple kids and my wife and I, we just celebrated our fourth child, our fourth child, two boys and two girls. We did it. And you know what parents like to do when they have kids? They like to give them nicknames. You realize at first we name them like their real name. But then we we followed up with some nicknames, things that a patch matched their personality. And last week did our baby.

[00:55:54] Her name is Holly Halley. And I came home last week and my son, he's six. He runs up and he says, Dad, we got a nickname for Harley. And I said, awesome, what is? And he says, It's HALLE-lujah. Yeah, that's a good nickname. Buddy. Well done. Well done. Good choice. And you know, when I was growing up, I had five brothers and sisters and my mom had like four nicknames for every single one of us. I don't know how she kept them all in line.

[00:56:23] And, you know, when mom gives you a nickname. It's endearing. It's something you love. It's something that only it's a connection between you and mom. I mean, if somebody's here at this church called me the sweet, endearing, adorable nicknames that my mom used to call me, I wouldn't appreciate that at all. Hey, please don't call me that. That's that's reserved for mom, right? And, you know, growing up with five brothers and sisters, you don't only get nicknames from mom and dad, you also get nicknames from your brothers and sisters.

[00:56:51] And, you know, mom, she has the words of life.

[00:56:54] She's giving me the nickname that just builds me up, my brothers and sisters. They took a different approach. They they wanted to cut me down with their words. And I say like I'm the victim. But I had some for them to write. I mean, the name that they came up with for me, which still haunts me to this very day. They called me Tattle Taylor. That was my name. Tattle Taylor.

[00:57:21] And you know what I did every time they called me that, I Talana. How dare you? I mean, I what can I say? I love justice at a young age, Mom. He called me Tattle Taylor. Do something about it. Respon, mom, dad, did you hear what he said, tattletale? That was my name. And to be honest, I mean, it was pretty fitting.

[00:57:42] I mean, I tattle on them all the time. I probably was the biggest tattletale in the house for sure. I every time someone did something wrong, I was there to blow the whistle. I tattled all the time. And if you're wondering maybe at this point what on earth is tattling have to do with Matthew? Chapter twelve, let's find out together.

[00:57:57] Matthew, chapter twelve, look at verse thirteen here. It says, Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad for the tree is known by its fruits. You brood of vipers. How can you speak good when you are evil? Four Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. You know what the heart is doing. You know what the tongue is doing. The tongue is a tattletale on your heart. The way that you speak is a reflection of what's going on inside of you. If you are unable to restrain your words and you are angry and bitter and that just overflows, you know why that's coming out of your mouth? It's because it is in your heart. And when Jesus came, he came to change our hearts. He came to give us a new heart. And so if you are unable if you are just cutting people down, if you are thrusting your words around like a sword. Well, maybe you should look inside your heart and wonder, is it because my heart is bad? Is it because I'm a bad tree producing bad fruit? Because our passage in Providence says you will eat of the fruits that your mouth is giving, you will eat of those fruits here Jesus making the distinction. I mean, this is something that the kids ministry understands. If you have an apple tree, it's going to produce apples. If you have a bad heart, it's going to produce bad fruit. That's what Jesus is saying.

[00:59:29] Look at verse 35, the good person out of his good treasure. Well, he brings forth good. The person who's been saved been set free from their sin. This person going to bring forth good, the evil person. He's going to bring forth evil. Verse 36. I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every careless word they speak for.

[00:59:52] Out of the four out of your by four by your words, you will be justified. And by your words, you will be condemned. When you think through the words that you've said this week, this month, this year, maybe your entire life. Are they going to condemn you on the day of judgment? Are they exposing that your heart is wicked? Or are your words that are coming out of your mouth exposing that Jesus has set you free and now you have control over your tongue? You have power in your tongue and you're giving life with your tongue.

[01:00:24] Which one? Because my brothers and sisters, this verse is telling us that the words that you speak, they're flowing from your heart. They're coming from what, inside of you? It's not starting here. This is where it's ending. It's starting deeper. It's starting in your heart. You got I mean, we might need to examine the things that we're saying. Put it down like this for point number three. What do your words say about you? What are your words saying about you? Can you listen to the things that you're saying? Can you connect them like Jesus is here? You connect the things that you're saying with a straight line right to your heart.

[01:01:06] You see the reason why this is such a big deal. I mean, going back to point number one, your tongue has this pin, this potential to destroy not only the people you're talking to, but guess what?

[01:01:16] You as well, because what it's exposing is what's going on inside your heart. So you might need to think through the things that were saying we might need to come to to Groupon on whatever day we're meeting this week, and we might need to confess that, hey, my heart is evil and wicked and I need to turn to Jesus. And you know what?

[01:01:34] When you confess your sin and you forsaking your repent from your sin and you turn to God in your repentance and you look and you worship and you see Jesus on the cross, you see him paying for every thoughtless word that you've ever spoken, every rotten thing that you've ever said. And you turn to him and you ask him for forgiveness.

[01:01:53] What is he going to do every time soon to give you mercy, isn't it? Forgive.

[01:01:58] And some of us, we might need to really think through the things that we're saving money to tie them directly to what our heart is telling us, which is that we're a bad tree and the fruits that we're going to eat are always going to be bad because my heart is bad. I need a new heart. And God has promised to give us one when we turn to him. Let's pray.

[01:02:18] Father, we would just want to come to you right now. And God, we want to confess to you that often times, Lord, our words.

[01:02:26] Are using an inappropriate way. And God, we want to confess that as since you. And now we say sorry for what our words have done. And God, we pray that our words would be used not for ourselves, not to build ourselves up or to puff ourselves up God, but our words would be used for other people to give them life.

[01:02:52] To express to them the gospel, the good news that you came to die and that you died for that sin and you rose from the dead to give us victory over sin. So we don't have to talk the way that we talk anymore.

[01:03:05] So, God, I pray that you would use the words of the people at this church to build up, to encourage to call alongside us to strengthen, and then we would be encouraging with our words that even right now, as we seem to you, that it would come from an overflow from our hearts, from this passion that we have because we love you and we think of the things that you have saved us out of and we're going to worship you now with our lives. God, I pray that you would hear us from heaven and that you would be greatly pleased by the things that we say right now as we seem to you, that there wouldn't be a disconnect from what I'm saying and how I'm praising you with what's going on with our heart.

[01:03:48] God, please reveal to us, God, how we have sinned against you and God clean our mouths. God help us to be people that are sharing the light. The truth. God that are sharing the words of eternal life. And may we see many souls impacted forever because of what we say. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.