Day 15 Speech to be Guarded

Day 15

Speech to be Guarded

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

(Matthew 5:33-37)

Speech to be guarded is the 7^th pillar

Believer’s speech to be guarded is the seventh pillar that holds the temple of truth!

By faith we believe that the universe was created by the Word of God.  We believe things exist because God spoke them into existence. It is evident, therefore, that there is power in the spoken word.  Now, man is created in the image of God, and God has given man power to speak.  Just like God, as we speak, we create situations around us, whether good or bad.  It depends entirely on the content of your speech.  You can either speak life or death; you can speak good or evil.  It is entirely up to you how you guard your speech.

 At a word of a man, people are put to death, people are put in prison, people are brought to poverty, people are violated, people are raped, people lose their jobs, people leave churches, people’s character are assassinated and destroyed, never again to be restored, countries are brought to ashes, men are set to war, others are enslaved.

 Yet the same mouth can also speak words that save people from death, protect people, prevent people from  going to prison, release people from jail, give people jobs, welcome people into churches, praise and encourage people,  build countries, bring peace to countries, and set people free.

As you can see, there is a lot of power in the spoken word of man! The wisest man that ever lived said:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”  (Proverbs 18:21)

 “Words are preceded by actions, and actions are anticipated by words.” (Ramos Talaya)

Things do not just happen.  Before anything can happen, someone said something, whispered something, or suggested something.  Whether through verbal or physical communication, someone has to say something for anything to happen.  Words have power!

The situation we find ourselves in right now, without exception, is the result of something someone said, which then led someone to do something, leading to us being where we are at this very moment! Just think about it for a second!  Oh, the power of speech!

The world is in chaos because people cannot control their tongue.  We go around speaking what is in the mind and heart. The Lord Jesus has taught us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks:

“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”  (Matthew 12:34-35)

How then can a man or woman speak good if Christ does not dwell in their hearts? That is why the world speaks foolishly, which is falsely called knowledge.  A doctor, for example, instructs a patient to stop smoking otherwise he will die, yet once the patient leaves the doctor’s office he lights up a cigarette and smokes: this is the wisdom of the world!

“They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”   (1 John 4:5-6)

But we, my dear beloved, we are not of the world; we are not to speak foolishly, or speak the world’s foolishness, which is falsely called knowledge.  We are the sons and daughters of the Truth.  We must speak the wisdom which comes from above, the true wisdom which is of God!  Amen!

“He who does not have control over his tongue will be a slave to his mouth.”  (Ramos Talaya)

Therefore, let us guard our speech and think before we speak, for the tongue is a very small member of the body but it can bring the body into much trouble.  Let us therefore be sober and speak evil of no man.  Let us bring our tongues into total subjection to Christ, that we may be able to think before we speak!

Think before you speak:  If that which you are about to speak will not profit anyone, will not edify, praise, exalt, build, comfort, bring peace, joy, hope, faith, show kindness, and if there is no love in it, then please be quiet.  For every word that you speak is written in a book, and it shall be brought against you in the Day of Judgment.  Therefore, if we don’t have anything good to say about a sister or brother or any one, we must be quiet and praise the LORD for His goodness over our lives, that we may live a quiet and peaceable life as we wait on the glorious appearance of our Great God Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

Therefore my beloved:

“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”  (2 Timothy 1:13)

“Sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”  (Titus 2:8)

“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”  (James 3:2)

Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ be ‘No,’ for whatever is more than these is from the evil one.  Don’t swear over dead people for they cannot help you.  Learn to say no.  It is okay for Christians to say:

 NO.

 I DON’T HAVE IT.

 I CAN’T MAKE IT.

 I’M NOT ABLE TO DO IT.

Do not let the tempter tempt you to lie, because when you lie you sin against God.

Finally, my dear beloved:

“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.”  (Proverbs 17:27)

 
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”  (Colossians 4:6)

“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” (Proverbs 21:23)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen!

Meditation:  Death and life are in the power of my tongue; therefore I must watch what I speak!

 Prayer points:  LORD, please set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.  For I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Commitment:  I surrender my heart, mouth and lips, to You, oh LORD.  Please set a guard over my mouth that I may not sin against You with my mouth, that I may speak that which is good through the power of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen!