Quit Getting Hung By Your Tongue

Quit Getting Hung By Your Tongue

By Jennifer Mears

TEXT: Proverbs 18:21

NKJV reads,

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Amplified Bible reads like this,

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].”

The Message Bible reads this way,

“words kill, words give life;

they’re either poison or good fruit—you choose.”

Introduction Illustration:

How many of you have ever had Hand, Foot in Mouth Disease?

My daughter Kristen had it last year. It was all over her school…it seemed like all the teachers and students caught it. When I was a the doctor’s office with my daughter, I began teasing the nurse and I told her that sometimes I have an acute (sudden onset) case of Foot – In – Mouth Disease… every once in a while, with very little warning ---I would open my mouth and my foot would suddenly end up in it!

Ever heard of a parent wanting to hang their children up by their ears?

Well, have you ever been hung by the tongue?

Have you ever opened your mouth and said something that you knew was going to get you in trouble, or going to come back and haunt you?

NEVER MIND, JUST KIDDING! Oh, can’t we just move on…

can I take that back?

Oooooooh, TOO LATE! Open mouth, insert foot…

do not pass go and do not collect $200.00!

Husbands (and wives) are bad about thinking “I can’t say that” and then ----they say it anyway…

We’ll get into an argument with our spouse, and this thought pops into our heads, we know if we say it, it’s going to get us in trouble.

We tell our selves, I’m not going to say that OR I’m not going to go there, BUT wouldn’t you know it, the moment you open your mouth, out pops those words that you knew you wasn’t going to say, and you’re in the dog- house.

ILLUSTRATION:

One lady was just a gossiping about someone in a local church to their pastor, and he stopped and asked her a question and she told him, “I’ve already told you more than I know.” (ouch) Does this sound familiar? Ever been a topic of one of those discussions?

I want to share with you this evening about how there is power in our words!

Our Words can bless, encourage, strengthen someone, and can bring the power of God on the scene. But words can also hurt, destroy, kill someone’s reputation, curse and damage people.

Touch someone and tell them “There’s power in what you say...so you better becareful what comes out of that thing...! HEY! We gotta watch out and be careful of what we say. Our mouth can be one of the most dangerous weapons that we have...or we can speak and bring life and resurrection to something that seemed to have died or was wasting away...Let Jesus come ALIVE in your heart and begin to resurrect all of your hopes and dreams that have perished within you.

There are many times we have brought things on our self because of what we’ve said.

Every time you open your mouth and confess that the enemy has really got you down, you’ve given him information that he wouldn’t have known unless you told him…and that gives him power…

What you say really does have a lot to do with what happens in your life.

Our scripture text in Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue.

As I was praying today The Holy Spirit began to speak to my heart and said that some of you are about to fall into a trap set by Satan. It’s difficult when people come against us. I know of a couple of situations going on right now where the enemy is attacking people by using their work place and people in the church…

Here’s what the Lord was showing me that we need to be careful of…

1.Be careful when you speak judgment on somebody…

Luke 6:37-38 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

When we get critical, and judgmental, we bring that same level of judgment back on ourselves. So if you criticize someone for not doing something and you turn around and you’re not doing what you’re complaining about either, that same judgment is coming back on you.