GET TOGETHER- What Are You Speaking?
Joh 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. (NKJV)
Wow! After last week’s message I must admit that I had to repent for something that came out of my mouth. I shared something with someone else that was public knowledge, that was in the media about someone that I disagree with. It was something that they are involved in that promotes an agenda that contrasts with a Biblical worldview.
Was I speaking the truth? Yes, I was. Was I speaking it in love? I am not so sure. Why did I repent then if what I spoke about this person was true and public knowledge? Well, my concern was that as a pastor and as a Christian that I feel like my concern about this person was something that I needed to be praying for that person about. I also felt like if the person that I shared this with would not have known this about the person if I hadn’t shared it with them. They had not read the article that I had read concerning this person’s views that I consider to definitely contrast with a Biblical worldview on this particular matter.
Jesus always spoke the truth in love. The words that He spoke were life giving words. Even when He called someone out, He was releasing life. When He forgave the woman caught in adultery in John Chapter 8, He graciously forgave her. And He graciously told her to go and sin no more. And He was always led by the Holy Spirit. As I mentioned last week there are a lot of things in our current culture that are being advanced and celebrated that go against a Biblical worldview. On the other hand, when we address these things we always want to be instruments of redemption and grace. We want our words to be words that are spirit and are life.
I am reminded of what I once heard about preachers who preach about Hell. Hell is a real place where the unsaved will spend eternity there forever. There are times that Holy Spirit has me to preach on the topic of Hell. And quiet often He has me to mention Hell in my sermons. When we as preachers are preacher preaching about Hell are we preaching with tears in our eyes because we don’t want people to go there. Or are we preaching about Hell because we would be glad that the unredeemed are going there. I pray for all of us that it is with tears in our eyes and to see the unsaved come to the cross of Christ.
Paul tells us in Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. The Greek term for corrupt in this passage is sapros. It means worthless, or rotten. When we speak are the words that we speak bearing fruit, and giving life? Or are they worthless, and rotten? Jesus words gave life and they came from the Holy Spirit. I believe that in this hostile culture to the word of God that He will give us words of life through the Holy Spirit that He will give us words to say that give life. These words won’t compromise the truth. But these words will be a different way than the way that the world uses words. I pray that the words that we all speak will be words that build up our fellow believers. I pray that they be words that the unsaved would see Jesus Christ in us and be drawn to the cross of Christ.
We are told in Col 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.(NKJV) Jesus said we are called to be salt and light. So even when we disagree with someone may our conversation always be seasoned with salt. Paul tells us in Tit 3:2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. So, we are not to say demeaning things about those who oppose us. Certainly, we should stand for the truth, but the way that we speak is to be different than the way that the world speaks.
Let Us Pray
Lord forgive us when we have responded more like the world in our words, thoughts, and actions than how you responded. You always spoke the truth. But Lord you always spoke the truth in love. Help us in this challenging time when it is not popular to speak the truth to speak as You did. May our words be words that are spirit, and that are life.
In JESUS NAME
AMEN
Love you all!
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston
PS For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night. That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.
Preston Headrick
Evangelist
Real Party Ministry
P O Box 2302
Hamilton, Alabama 35570
Real Party Ministry 