Guard Your Words

Guard Your Words

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Text: 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians 4:29-32, Romans 12:9-21

Hypocrisy – claiming to have moral standards or beliefs that your own behavior doesn’t follow.

Pretense – an attempt to make something that is not the case, appear true.

Trying to look like “agape” when the program that is actually running in my heart towards them is anything but love. An actor’s mask.

In the past there has been things that hurt, and in human fashion and self-perseveration, I form a classic response to protect myself.
Most of the time this kind of wounding happens with those closest to you.
Parents, best friends, a relative you trusted, a spiritual leader, etc.

You thought someone was going to be your friend, or a leader you thought was beyond human issues, disappointed you, let you down, maybe even cheated you, treated you wrong, so that pre-programmed response in you towards those who hurt you kicks in to where your response about them – to them – is not Christ like, but just the opposite.

But we have our Christian-like routine down to a science, so we know how to “look” like we “agape” them – on the surface. An actor’s mask.

And in those “unguarded” times where their name comes up, we tend to paint them in a bad light, based on my heart’s opinion of them.
When we are talking to our “friends,” we give them the details of how wrong things are - So what comes out of my mouth towards them is not right.
I alien my heart and ally my life with the accuser of the brethren. (Rev.12:10)
Ver.14-21.

Eph.4:30 Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
How do you grieve the Holy Spirit? There are actually a number of ways, but with this message, let’s look at ver.29.

PT – “Never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful gifts that encourage others…”
Ver.31-32.

In 1 Timothy, Paul was encouraging and instructing Pastor Timothy in dealing with different doctrinal problems he was facing at his church in Ephesus.
All the way through 1 Tim. Paul warns Timothy about engaging in word problems.

1:4-6 – disputes over fables, and endless genealogies, be careful of “idle talk.”
4:1-2 – some will speak lies in hypocrisy. (That’s church-jargon – Christian-ese)

6:3-5 – beware of being obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, and useless wrangling.

6:20 - avoiding the profane and idle babbling.

There is something important wrapped up in this warning about “idol talk.”
This is tool of the enemy to disengage a person from a solid relationship with God.

My babbling can be used by Satan to change the value of my heart, to change my affection towards God – to change the affection of my heart.

Ps 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

A more literal translations would be: “Let the words I speak and what my heart murmurs to itself be a delight to You.”

Ps.104:34 “May my meditation be sweet to Him.”

In my idol talk, my babbling, what my heart murmurs to itself can often be about making judgments, speaking curses over someone.

Our enemy in attempt to destroy my life – will continually try and change the focus of my heart from God to me.

“Poor me” – see how I have been done wrong. In reality, this can be very true!
But I use every opportunity to seed validation, sympathy, justification for my heart focus.

Let’s talk about my speech concerning current political areas. WARNING!

By the way – “Happy Mother’s Day”!
Prophetic word for mothers:
Don’t let your perceived failures in parenting define your heart for your personal identity towards you and towards your children.

Not only guard against yourself picking up wrong identity, but protect your children from projecting a sense of failure that would label them as well.

With no one looking around except those who would like to make eye contact with me, if this rings in your heart, I want you to look up at me.

Song: “With You” - Elevation Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz-TV71HT2o