Allen Jackson - Sticks, Stones, and Words
I wanna talk to you about words, but I really have a bigger agenda. I'm gonna suggest to you that there's a spiritual authority in your words. That the words you speak in spiritual authority is a concept biblically that's intertwined. They're really inseparable. And if you haven't thought about it much or you don't think about it much, you're forfeiting something that God has entrusted to you. But I have a secondary agenda that is related to that. See, I think those of us that attend church, particularly in America, we kind of imagine that our stability and our opportunities to flourish and all of those things are secured by the government or our history or the integrity of our founding documents or something.
I would submit to you that the freedoms and the liberties and the things that we know have come from Almighty God. And the degree that the church is a healthy, vital influence in our culture, those things will remain for the generations that follow us, and the degree that the church is diminished and weakened and silenced, those things will disappear. And the idea that's kind of flourished in our hearts, and we're all, I think, susceptible to this is that there's a time on Sunday morning when we're Christians. We find a building that looks like a Christian place, and we go in and we do Christian. We spray up and clean up and sit up and shut up, and for about an hour or so, we try to fool our neighbors. But when we leave church, we've done Christian, now we're gonna go do life. And we have friends, and we recreate, and we do business, and we do all the things that define us. We have homes and lives, not bad, not evil.
What I wanna suggest to you is that the notion of your spiritual life was never intended to be confined to a church building or to a time block on Sunday morning. That it was intended to be integrated into the breadth of your life. And there's no clearer expression of this that I can think of from scripture than this notion of the spiritual authority of your words. Who you are and what you say 24/7 is an expression of your spiritual life, for good or for evil. Something is being expressed, whether you intend it or you don't intend it. It's a mistake to think that intent is required to have a consequence. I think of some of the goofy things I've done in my life and some of the stupid tax I've had to pay. Very few of those things were initiated 'cause I had the intent to cause myself pain.
So don't get confused and then go, "I didn't intend it". That's not the point. There is an authority in your words. I know it's not a concept we think about, and it could be taken to some goofy places, some odd places. Don't do that. And don't reject the idea because you've seen people do goofy things with it. People do weird things with food, but I still intend to have lunch. I wanna submit to you that prayer is a utilization of your words for God-directed outcomes. We've been spending a lot of time for a few years now talking about prayer and how to unleash it in our lives. We bring weekly prayers. We talk about how to pray just sentence prayers in the context of our daily interaction with people.
See, for too long, I think we have linked prayer to public gatherings of Christians, as if prayer was some sort of a public service announcement at the beginning of a gathering of Christians. We don't really attach value to it. It's one of when the Christians get together, we begin with a prayer, and when we're done with our gathering, we close with a prayer, and then you know it's time to run to the restaurant. But prayer is more than that. It's using your words for God-directed, God-inspired outcomes. Words aren't just empty, useless conveyors of messages. The words you choose and the words directed towards you have an impact. And we're gonna unpack some scriptures with this idea, but maybe if we use another idea, the types of calories that you consume, whether they're healthful or not, will define your physical health and well-being.
Now, that's reality. The impact isn't often immediate, but it is certain. Well, I would submit to you there's an analogy. The words you use and the words you receive have a defining influence in your life. The impact isn't often immediate, but it is certain. It's worth considering. I'll give you a verse of scripture. It's not in your notes, but it's a very familiar verse that illustrates this point. In Romans chapter 10, in verse 9, it says, "If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you'll be saved". Salvation's kind of a loaded word in the New Testament. It has lots of meanings and implications, but fundamentally, it means you can be a part of the kingdom of God. How do you become a participant in the Kingdom of God? You have to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth.
What ignites that transformation? The New Testament speaks of it as a new birth. What ignites that birth in your life? Joining a church? Passing a theological exam? Being kind or moral or generous or benevolent? Maintaining your marital vows? Being a good parent? Being a gifted athlete? What qualifies you to enter the kingdom of God? Your words are necessary. See, I think we have trivialized words. We've felt, "Ah, there's nothing", there is something to it. There is something to it. There's something to your spiritual well-being and the well-being of you as a person is related to the words you use and what you do with the words that are directed towards you.
Some of us have carried the impact of words that were spoken to us decades ago and have been either unaware or unwilling to unload the impact of those words. Let's start with this notion from scripture that words carry with them an authority and authority for which we are going to be accountable. We start in Proverbs chapter 21. It says, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity". I have no interest at this season in my life of being involved in unnecessary calamity. I try to avoid them now whenever possible. I used to think they were fun. Not so much, right? If I have the invitation to be a part of some enormous calamity, I will defer and send you. And we're given some counsel here. It says, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue avoids calamity".
Do you think about guarding your words? You guard your home. You guard your finances. You probably guard your kids. You guard your car. How many of you locked your car when you parked today? You think you go to church with thieves? Bunch of suspicious people? You're used to guarding things in your life. You guard your data. You guard your information. Well, the scripture tells us we should guard our mouth and our tongue, because what comes out of it has an impact on the events of our lives. You say, "I don't believe that". I know, it's why I read it to you. We have to decide what to do with the truth of scripture. Look at Proverbs 18. "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit".
So there is power in the words that come out of your mouth. Hebrew poetry is typically written in couplets, two ideas that are pushed together, and to get the full meaning of the presentation, you need to know both parts. That's true here. The first statement is there's power in your tongue, for life or death, for good or for evil. And the second phrase has to do with what you believe. It says, "Those who love it will eat its fruit". If you believe it, it will bring good things to you. If you ignore it, the opposite is true. There is power in spiritual authority, for good or for evil, in the words you speak. Matthew chapter 12. Jesus is speaking. He said, "I tell you". There's a pattern that Jesus uses when he's teaching. Oftentimes he'll begin a phrase and say, "I tell you the truth" or "I tell you".
And I've told you before that when you see those phrases, it's a warning. It's like a caution light that what he's about to say next is so unusual he has to say, "I'm tellin' you the truth," before he tells you. 'Cause it's outside your expectations. So he's kind of queuing us up to what's coming next we probably wouldn't have imagined. He said, "I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken". Jesus said that. I know it's in the Bible, and you read it like it's normal, but that's a little surprising. How many of you thinking about judgment before Almighty God are worried about your words? I'm thinkin' about some behaviors, some events, some activities, some things I consented to, some things I didn't stand up against.
And Jesus is ignoring all of that. He said, "You're gonna have to give an account on the day of judgment for your careless words". Not your intentionally mean-spirited words. For your careless ones. "For by your words you'll be acquitted, and by your words you'll be condemned". Words have more authority than we've thought about. Words carry with them a spiritual authority. Words have an impact on your actions and your behaviors and the consequences of your actions and your behaviors. Again, this is a fundamental idea. This isn't like crazy Christianity or the lunatic fringe of our faith. This is at the heart of it.
How many of you know the biblical word "repentance"? Repentance is something that is expressed verbally. Repentance that is only a thought is not repentance. Repentance is about a change of heart and a change of behavior. But those changes are ignited, initiated, by words you say, by words you express. "God, I'm sorry. I have been wrong. My choices were wrong. My behavior was wrong. My attitude was wrong. I repent. I wanna go a new way". If you don't express those words, the consequences of your behavior is coming to you. It's through repentance we receive mercy and grace and we are delivered from the consequence we justly deserve. Words have authority. We've been a little casual with this.
We've been a little undisciplined with our words. Why does it matter? Because there's authority in your words, for good and for bad. Please don't treat them casually. It's a spiritual principle. It's a biblical principle. It's at the heart of scripture. We're introduced to it in the first chapter of the Bible. This isn't some subtext, some subtle hint in scripture. It's a primary theme. I went back to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is a book of wisdom. Proverbs is a book that will tell you the outcome at the beginning of an idea. That's a tremendous advantage. It's like knowing the scores to all the NFL games before the season begins. That might be an advantage for some behaviors.
Well, the book of Proverbs tells you the outcome at the beginning. And I went to the book of Proverbs, and I pulled out all the verses that said something about our words or our mouth or what we speak. And two things become clear. There's a direct connection between what's in your heart and what comes out of your mouth. Your mouth is like the overflow valve. See, I thought when I was a kid, the only real issue with words was not to use profanity. You didn't wanna get caught using profanity by somebody that didn't like it 'cause there was a consequence. So I thought if you just learned to avoid a handful of words, you were good to go. The rest of it didn't matter. But what I've been awakened to is the idea that what's comin' out of my mouth is really an indicator of what's in my heart.
And it is possible that I hit my thumb with a hammer, "praise the Lord" might not come rollin' out of me. But I have discovered that the more "praise the Lord" I put in my heart, the better chance I got of gettin' that out under pressure. Well, the book of Proverbs leads us towards that. And I just made a cursory list, this is by no means an inclusive list, of the way that words can diminish or strengthen your life, 'cause both are true. We can start with the negative, the diminishing. Look at Proverbs 11. It says, "By the mouth of the wicked city is destroyed". That's significant. Either the upright exalt a city, or by the mouth of the wicked it's destroyed. We saw an example of that the other night on Friday night late, we were watchin' the summary of the news, and there was a coup attempt in Turkey.
Anybody see some of that? The military was leading a coup to displace the leader of Turkey. The president, Erdogan, was out of the country or someplace. They didn't know where he was. And it looked, at least in those initial reports, or the reports that I saw initially, that the military had successfully completed the coup. And then I saw a broadcast of Erdogan. Wherever he was, he was FaceTiming somebody on an iPhone, and they were broadcasting him FaceTiming. Broadcasting it across Turkey. And they were say, he was saying to his supporters in the nation, "Go stand in the streets". And with those words, they did, and that coup failed. And the implications of that's a whole 'nother thing, but folks, words carry with them authority. And when you choose not to use your words for godliness, when you choose to say silent because it's more convenient or comfortable or you don't wanna forfeit an opportunity, you are forfeiting an authority that's been given to you.
Proverbs 12, "Reckless words pierce like a sword". 15, "A deceitful tongue crushes the spirit". That's harsh language. What do you think it takes to crush the spirit of someone? Tremendous disaster? Great financial loss? A horrific physical diagnosis? It's not what the scripture says. It says a deceitful tongue can crush the spirit. Proverbs 26, "Flattering mouth works ruin". Or 13, "He who you who speaks rashly will come to ruin". Proverbs 12, "An evil man is trapped by his sinful talk". Do you think of words as an entrapment, a snare? Those are powerful words. Destroy, pierce, crush, trap, lead astray, all of those outcomes are related to words used casually or destructively.
Now, if it's true in the negative, it's even more true in the positive. Look at Proverbs 10. It says, "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life". The Bible was written by persons that inhabit the Middle East. It's predominantly a desert. The most precious resource in the Middle East is water. It was an antiquity. It still is today. So if you have a fountain, you're a wealthy, influential, powerful person. And it says, "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life". Proverbs 10 again, "The lips of the righteous know what is fitting". Chapter 15, "The heart of the righteous weighs its answers. The tongue brings healing is a tree of life". Proverbs 21, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity". Proverbs 12:19, "Truthful lips endure forever, a lying tongue lasts only a moment".
Truthful words endure. Lies are temporary. What are you gonna give yourself to? You know, truth is not held in high esteem in our culture in this season. We don't particularly champion the truth any longer. It's unfortunate. Decide to be a person of the truth. Not simply in the words that you choose and the the things that you advocate for, but in what you use your words to support. It's important. It has an influence in your life. Now, I wanna wrap this up with an idea that to me is the most hopeful in this whole discussion, and it has to do with the opportunity that this represents for all of us. You know, we're a large group of people. We come from a lot of different backgrounds, many places in life, many places in the world. We have different gifts and abilities that God has given us. We're not all the same. It's okay. Every one of us is different.
Just as your thumbprint is unique or other aspects of your person are unique, God's given you abilities and gifts. And I don't always get the gifts and abilities I would like. I always thought it would have been better if I could have played in the NBA. Particularly now that the salary cap has shifted. I see those contracts. I'm pretty certain it was an oversight on God's part. He intended me to be 6'10" and gifted. I'm not. Just take my word for it. You know, some of us have athletic gifts, physical gifts. Some have musical gifts. Some have creative abilities. Some have crazy intellectual capacity. Some of you are relationally gifted. You can sit with a group of people and make everybody feel at home and help get to know one another. We have different gifts and abilities.
And sometimes it's easy to be frustrated by the gifts you don't have or look at the gifts that somebody else has and go, "Ah, I wish I'd had those". Sometimes it feels like life's circumstances, some people were born to families that were more intact than others. Now, all of us come from torched families, some more so than others. Or maybe you came from a place that you think is disadvantaged. Maybe 'cause the accent with which you speak or the schools you attended or some opportunity that was not extended to you, it's easy to be frustrated. But folks, on this point, God has entrusted to you and me words. He's put authority in your lap. You have an authority. And it doesn't matter the accent with which you deliver it or the education that supports it or how socially sophisticated you are.
God has given to you and me an authority. What will we do with it? The New Testament talks about us being ambassadors. Ambassadors don't lead armies. They're not generals. They don't command scores of tanks or flights of jet aircraft. But they represent the authority of a nation, of a kingdom! With your words. See, don't limit your faith as a Christ follower to a worship service or a church building. Let it in your imagination invade the breadth of your life. We've been doin' this Let's Pray initiative all year, one sentence lines into the midst of our lives. When somebody says to you they're havin' a bad day, say, "Hey, let's pray. God, give us a better day. In Jesus's name, amen". "My kids are drivin' me nuts". "God, help those kids. In Jesus's name". "My husband's mean". "God, amen".
Sometimes a word's enough. Don't stand there and wait for something, you know, we've been...don't wait for that reaction. I told you. We talked about lines to use at the end of... one of my suggestions: "How 'bout those Titans"? Just keep movin'. Well, somebody told me the story of their daughter had a friend that had a problem. They were talkin' about a problem, and the daughter said, "Well, let's pray". And so she prayed this little one-line prayer. She got done, she looked over and said, "How 'bout those Titans"? She thought it was part of the prayer. I'm okay with it. I think they can need all the prayer we can deliver for them, so. But in your words, there is a spiritual authority, an opportunity. Nobody can take it from you, but you can forfeit it.
Look at Ephesians chapter 5. "Speak to one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". And you can read that passage in a variety of ways. You can look at it and say, "Well, it's a concluding remark, so it's just filled with poetic language, and they're nonsense words". Or you can parse it for some theological theme. Whenever possible, I would suggest the simplest reading of scripture is the best. And in this case, I believe it means what it says. That we should speak to one another in ways that we learn from scripture. There should be a spiritual component in how we speak to one other consciously, intentionally. That in our hearts, we're to sing and make music to the Lord.
In my case, it's better if I sing inwardly. Externally, it's not a blessing, trust me. But then we're given an instruction. It says, "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything". Always giving thanks to God the Father. But sometimes life is unfair and unjust. Sometimes it's difficult. Sometimes it's abusive or horrendous. What do you do in those places? I don't think you necessarily give thanks for the circumstance or the abuse or the horror, but in the midst of that, we can give thanks to God. One of my favorite biblical phrases is "it came to pass". 'Cause I know if it came to pass, it didn't come to stay. And sometimes I'm in the midst of a circumstance or a challenge or a problem, and I'll say to myself, you know, "I'm glad to know you came to stay. You're not on my calendar long-term. You're not gonna define my future. Whatever you look like and whatever implications you have in this moment, you've come to pass. You might as well move along".
And I'll give thanks that this season is temporary. Everybody brings joy to your life. They do. Some with their arrival and some with their departure. You could say truthfully, everybody you meet tomorrow, you could look at 'em in the face and say, "You have brought joy to me today". Now, you don't have to tell 'em why. Hebrews 3 says, "Encourage one another daily". You have that ability. If you choose not to be an encourager, you are withholding something. It's not a value neutral thing. We've been given an instruction: "Encourage one another daily".
You know, it's sad that the body of Christ, Christians are not known as being encouragers. We've been given the label of patrolling the battlefield, looking for our wounded, and we'll finish 'em off. Finding the weaknesses in people is not difficult. We all have an abundance of those. Our shortcomings and failures are typically on display for all to see. Decide to be an encourager. Find a way to add some value to the people in your life. You know, I'm always amazed at the responses I get when I talk about this.
Folks say, "Pastor, that's hard for me. I feel so insincere". What do you feel sincere doing, being critical? "Yeah, pastor, I don't know what to do with that. If I say somethin' nice to people, they'll think I'm up to something". Well, have you been sayin' bad things to 'em? All of the responses that seem to come out of me indicate I haven't been paying much attention to this. Encourage one another. You don't have to do anything elaborate. It can be, "Thanks. Bless you. Good to see you. Glad you're here. See you later".
Be an encourager. Your words make a difference. Let's be a people who pray. Not just on Sunday morning as a public service announcement. Let's bring prayer into the fabric of our lives. Let's be known as a people who let God's Word in our hearts and out of our mouths. Amen? All right, I brought you a prayer. It's at the bottom of your outline. Why don't you stand with me? We'll read this prayer together. We don't come to church just to be prayed at. We come to church to be changed by prayers in our own lives, amen? All right, have you found it? Let's read it together:
Lord, You give wisdom. And from Your mouth come knowledge and understanding. You hold victory in store for the upright. You are a shield to those whose walk is blameless. You guard the course of the just and protect the way of Your faithful ones. Enable me to understand what is right and just and fair, every good path. Allow wisdom to enter my heart. May discretion protect me and understand and guard me all the days of my life. Amen.