Death and Life Is In the Power of the Tongue

I spent a little time this last week reflecting on Ski Weekend, as Mr. Imes mentioned in the announcements, and enjoyable time we had together. And I was rolling Kevin Kennedy's message around in my head throughout the week, and he mentioned a number of helpful points throughout that message.

And one thing that stuck with me was the concept of positive affirmation, and just simply the power that we have to encourage and lift one another up in a positive and helpful way. And in a way that builds relationships and builds life. Today I want to springboard off of some of his comments and talk about the words that we speak and the words of our mouth, the fruit of our tongue.

Because positive affirmation very much comes from our words, but we also have the opportunity through our words as well to have the opposite effect. And it can be so easy. And honestly, at times, it doesn't even require much of a change in the word that we speak to either send it from positive to negative.

There's so much wrapped up in our speech, sometimes it's even the tone. And so the title for today's message comes from Proverbs 18 verse 21, and it is, Death and Life Are in the Power of the Tongue. It's a very important principle, again, springboarding off of what he brought up last week about the positive affirmation and those positive things that we can do to build our relationships.

Our tongue is central to that focus. So I would like to begin, if you would turn there, please, to Proverbs chapter 18 verse 21. This is where the title comes from today. And sometimes people say, I'd like some homework after the sermon and kind of continue and study on that topic. So I would say, if you'd like some homework this week and some focused study, go through the Proverbs and look up all the references to speech, to mouth, to tongue, to our words, and just study, meditate on those things.

There's a lot to be discovered. Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it, who love to speak, who love to use the tongue, and to some degree we all do, those who love it will eat its fruit. So whenever we open our mouth to speak, there's a result. There's a consequence. Oftentimes there's feelings or emotions or things that are generated by our words, whether it's coming from us outward or whether it's the way it's heard and perceived by those on the other end. But again, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and so we must be very careful with our words.

There's a lot at stake, indeed, when we open our mouths to speak. As I've mentioned, our words often convey our emotions, our feelings. They reveal the hidden things of the heart. And there's times that we can use virtually the same words in different ways, and the meaning comes across differently. If I were to say, well, you really wouldn't understand what's going on, you haven't been around for long anyway, you might hear it in that way.

Or I could say, well, you really wouldn't know what's going on anyway. You really haven't been around. It can make a difference. You know, just the tone, the focus, and indeed it's not just the words we say, it's how we express them. Words have the ability to either build up and strengthen, edify and encourage, or to tear down and to destroy and to bring death. And through the history of man, there are times when war has started simply over words, conflict and struggles. And you've probably all heard the phrase, them are fighting words. Somebody might say something, somebody else might respond in a certain way, and them are fighting words.

And there's simply ways that we could express ourselves, either to calm a situation, bring about peace, or essentially throw gas on an open flame. So, death and life are in the power of the tongue. Words can be the death of marriages. Words could be the death of close, lifelong friendships. They could be the death of relationships in neighborhoods, in businesses, in your country, and even in a church. Our words mean things. Words also can be sort of shot like darts.

Sometimes I think that's why it's difficult when it's within the most intimate of relationships, like marriage, or church, or just close friends. When you have that intimate relationship, the other person knows you. They know the weaknesses, they know the challenges.

And if the words are in an assault sort of way, they know where to put the dagger. Put it where it hurts and between the ribs. And so there's death that can come in various ways by the words, but also life can be a result of our words. Life and peace and prosperity and those things that would encourage and lift up. And, brethren, that should be our goal. Words can be used to reconcile.

God sent His only Son, only begotten Son, into the world to what? Reconcile the world unto Him. And so Jesus Christ taught words of reconciliation, has been committed to the ministry, the word of reconciliation, which is the gospel message, and what God is doing to reconcile the world to Himself. And so words can be used to bring about peace and harmony and the building of relationships just as well.

The words that we speak to our spouses can add life to our marriage. You know, is it a compliment? Is it uplifting? Or is it kind of an underhanded remark or something that's degrading? We have the opportunity to build our relationships by our words. We can build up our families. We can build up our businesses and our community and our nation.

And we can build up our church as well through the words that we speak. Words can give people hope when they're in despair. We're going to have a memorial service this afternoon for Arnold Egbert, and one of the scriptures I'll reference is 1 Thessalonians 4. And Paul says, I don't want you to sorrow as those with no hope, and he talks about the resurrection.

But then the verse concludes the chapter with, therefore comfort one another with these words. And so words build up, they encourage, they can give hope to those who are down and grieving and in despair.

Right and true words can bring about enlightenment and understanding into one's life. Christ commissioned the apostles to go out and preach the gospel. Again, the enlightenment, the reconciliation, the life that would result from receiving those words and acting upon them and having that relationship with God. And so it is true what the Bible says, the tongue can bring death, and it can bring life as well. And it's within the power of the tongue, but it's not a member that just functions apart from our will.

As I was looking at the Bible, you know, I'm thinking, I could give a multi-part series on the words that we speak. I'm not even going to the book of James today, and that's probably popped into your head right off the bat. The book of James, and so much that he says, what a fire that is kindled by just a word from the tongue. It would be like going to the outback, the brush in Australia right now, and just dropping a match, and just the inferno that takes off. In fact, people have been arrested, I think 26 was one of the last numbers I read, of people that were arrested, lighting fires around the country, but it's an inferno. And the result is, you could just blow that flame out even before it comes out. So we do have a power that God gives us and allows us by free choice to exercise how we will, and we have to be willing to do it in a very godly and productive way.

Once words are spoken, they're out there. You've said it. It's done, and it's not like you can reach out and grab them out of the thin air and choke them back down, and just all forget that I said these things. There's times where maybe you can repair the damage that has been done, but like a wildfire, it takes a while to put out, and often years or even decades before the scarring goes away and life is reestablished again. And so the consequences of our words are huge. I just want to whip through a few proverbs here. I'm not going to add a lot of commentary, but the focus for today isn't everything that I could say about it, but it is the contrast, the fact that death or life could be the result, depending on how we use this important member. Proverbs chapter 10, verse 11 through 14, says, The mouth of the righteous is a well of life. And when I read that in my mind, I think of like an artesian well, where they put a hole down and the water's just gushing and bubbling out and bringing life. The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, but a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding. Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. Again, death and life, it could be a well of life, or the foolish is near destruction by the words they speak. Verse 18 says, Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. Verse 25, When the whirlwind passes by the wicked, they are no more.

And that's not actually where I want to go. Let's go to verse 18 actually on this. Whoever hides, again, that hatred has lying lips. Whoever spreads slander is a fool, and in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking. He says, But he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver. The heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for a lack of wisdom. Again, death or life, the power of the tongue. Proverbs 12, verse 17 says, He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness declares deceit. There's one who speaks like the piercings of a sword. Again, especially if it's close relationships, but somebody can use their words in a way that is hurtful, that harms, that pierces into the soul, and literally can bring about death. Maybe not physically, but in terms of the relationships, and the words, the tongue, can be used very much like a sharp sword.

One who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. Verse 19, The truthful lips shall be established forever, eternal life. But the lying tongue is but for a moment.

You might have your moment, but death ultimately would be the result. Verse 25, Anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. The right word at the right time when you needed to hear it. It cheers the soul. Proverbs 15, verse 1.

Proverbs 15, verse 1. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. It depends how it's presented. It depends how it's laid out there. Is it something that calms and soothes the situation? Or is it like throwing a can of gas on a flame and now you have an inferno? The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, with the mouth of a fool pours forth foolishness. Jumping down to verse 4, a wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Proverbs 16. Again, there are so many that you could go through. I'm just hitting a few high points. Proverbs, as well as the Psalms, are just full of the importance of our words and the result of what it is that we speak. Proverbs 16 and verse 23, it says, The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and adds learning to his lips. As in, maybe he actually thinks about what he's going to say before he says it. He's very careful about the words that he allows to come out of his mouth because he understands there's consequences to these things. Words mean things, and they can build up or they can tear down. Verse 24, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. So there's many other passages we could go through here in the Psalms, but I think you get the point. Life and death, indeed, are in the power of the tongue. God has given us the free choice over what it is that we will speak, and the question for us is, how will we use that? What is it that we will do with the words? Will we build up or will we tear down?

Whether we realize it or not, as God's people, we're called to use the tongue in a way that actually impacts our eternal life. The words that we speak are not just physical words that don't go beyond physical impact. Our spiritual life actually, in many ways, hangs on what it is that proceeds from our mouth. And our words have spiritual implications. Let's notice Matthew 12, verse 31.

Hear an encounter that Jesus Christ had with the Pharisees.

Matthew 12, verse 31. Again, the spiritual consequences of the words that we speak.

Matthew 12, verse 31. Jesus says, Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. And so, blasphemy against the Spirit of God is accountable into the unpardonable sin. And as we know, any sin that will not be repented of is unpardonable. There is no sin that's too big for the blood of Jesus Christ, apart from something that we won't lay at God's feet and seek his forgiveness for. But Christ says, you're walking on dangerous ground if you blaspheme the Spirit of God. And the context here is that's what the Pharisees were doing. Christ was healing people. Back in verse 22, it was a demon-possessed blind mute that he healed, and they're looking around and saying, This fellow does not cast out demons except by bells above the ruler of the demons. So they're attributing the power that Christ had by God's Spirit, by which he's performing these miracles, to actually the power of Satan, the power of demons. And Jesus Christ is saying, if you're making that comparison of the Spirit of God, you're on dangerous ground. And there's just certain things that we might would utter with our mouth that, if not turned around, would not lead to life. In fact, just the opposite. Verse 33, continuing on, it says, Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. So you're not going to walk up to a good tree and just find bad fruit on it, and you're not going to walk up to a tree with just bad fruit all over and say, Well, this is a really good tree. It's basically the principle is, out of the heart of a man comes the fruit, and it's through our lips. Honestly, that the fruit of our heart is expressed. And Christ is saying, you know, we're going to work up to this, but basically, what is that you have on the inside? It's going to be shown by what comes out. Verse 34, he says, Brute 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. An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. And I'm just hearkening to James in my mind, and the point was a spring's not going to bring forth both good, sweet water and foul water. It's whatever is the source, that is what is going to be produced. And James is telling, or Christ is telling the Pharisees here, be very careful. What is in your heart is coming out of your mouth, and it's becoming evident and clear. Verse 35, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. Evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Brethren, I hope that scares you a little bit. Be honest, it scares me.

There is a proper fear that God gives us in the Bible that we might fear the consequence of not doing the right thing. But Christ says, by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. And I go back in my mind, and just self-evaluation, and I say, well, can I be happy with that standard given maybe what I've said over the course of the last year, or the course of the last five years or ten years?

And thank God he allows repentance and forgiveness, and he is a merciful God, because what's on your brain can just so easily come out of your mouth. And part of what I'm trying to show us is the importance of taking a moment and thinking about it. Before we release it, our society, where I've grown up, and I look around the world, we're such a knee-jerk reaction sort of people, and we're going to respond immediately, and I'm just going to tell you what I think. And that's not always the best course of action. And so to understand that the words that we would speak, you know, the idle words, every idle word a man may speak, you will give account for it in the day of judgment.

It ought to give us pause to consider what it is we would say before we open our mouth and then begin to speak. Again, this is heavy weight, heavy duty, heavy consequences, life and death, and the power of the tongue. Now, in all things, Jesus Christ set the perfect example for us, and the same is true with his words.

He never misspoke. He never just kind of flew off the handle and, you know, in a moment of weakness. When he was angry, and I would call it righteous indignation as he of the Son of God, directed by God's Spirit, could have, he zeal for his Father's house, consumed him, and he drove the money changers out of the temple. I would say he was a little bit upset, but he was never out of control. He never said anything he didn't mean to say. John the Baptist died, his cousin. He's trying to mourn his cousin. He doesn't even hardly get a moment of peace, and the crowds are there, kind of pushing towards him, and he has to sort of put his own personal feelings in the background for a little bit and serve the people.

And so there was never a point where somebody came up to him and said, Lord, and he just turned and said, What? He caught me at a bad time. You know, he was always kind. He was always serving. I want to say he never had low blood sugar like me. I'll take that back. He was human. Maybe he did, but he didn't allow it to affect the words that he spoke. So I'm a big fan for snacks after church.

I think it contributes well to our fellowship. So Jesus never misspoke. Same with God. Psalm 12 verse 6 says, The words of the Lord are pure words. The words of God are pure. It says, Like silver tried in a furnace of the earth, purified seven times. The dross is removed, and it's just pure. And for us, by God's Spirit, that couldn't be us, or at least we should be moving towards that.

But it's a process, and it's a matter of refinement. And it's a matter of bringing the captivity to the obedience of Christ, every thought that we would think of, and running it through that process of refinement before we speak. Wouldn't it be great to always know the right words to speak at all the right times?

You encounter somebody who's grieving, or in a struggle or circumstance, and to just be able to open your mouth and say the right thing at the right time, that helped them in a positive way? I think of that when I'm walking into the hospital to visit somebody, or to comfort some grieving family, or to intervene in some circumstance, and what has brought to me is, like, what is the right thing to say? And I'm constantly praying to God to please give me the words that would be helpful and not harmful here, because sometimes that can be a fine line.

And you don't want to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, you want to say the right thing at the right time. And that's a gift, which comes from God, and there are people who have that ability, and I marvel at it, and it is a blessing and a gift, but I think it's something we should all ask for. Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 11.

Again, the concept of saying the right things at the right time in order to edify.

Proverbs 25 verse 11, it says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. It's like kind of if you have this nice little silver platter out there as a display, and it's silver and it's shiny and it's beautiful, and you have apples made of gold on it, and the beauty of that display. And the New American Standard Bible says, Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.

Again, it's saying the right thing at the right time in a way that brings the right results. And it's a blessing, and the context is that is a beautiful thing to behold.

Darla recently shared a story with me. She was reading online, and there was a young man, high school age, and he was having trouble at school. He was constantly being confronted with bullies who were, for lack of a better word, torturing him, hounding him, just beating him down mentally. And one day after school, he was heading home, and he was entertaining thoughts of suicide in his mind because of the challenges he faced and how depressing it was to him. And at some point along the way home, this group came out, these bullies, and they came out and confronted him, and they were kind of whipping up on him, making fun of him. They knock his books out of his hand and kind of go on their way. And in his mind, he said, when I get home, I'm going to kill myself. And right about that time, somebody coming up the opposite side of the street sort of saw what happened and came over, and I don't remember if it was a girl or a boy, but began talking to him and just said, are you okay? Can I help you? And don't pay them any. Never mind. And he said, actually, just that one person, it was just a short encounter, but that one person coming up and just speaking words of encouragement and letting him know that he wasn't alone and that there are people that do care that changed his perspective. And again, it was a word that was fitly spoken at the right time. Proverbs 15, verse 23, again, the same concept. Proverbs 15, verse 23, says, A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is. It's like a breath of fresh air, and it's beautiful. In the apples of gold and settings of silver, it's precious, it's priceless, it's beautiful in its season. And so we all need to be aware of things happening around us, circumstances, so we can respond in a proper way, speak words of encouragement, positive affirmation once again. You know, if you haven't seen someone at church for a while, if it's a very small group, it's easy to know who's there and who's not, but if it's a bigger group, it's easy to miss out on who's not there that day, or maybe a consecutive number of weeks. But we need to be aware of what's going on around us, and offer encouragement if you've not seen somebody. Give them a call, check on them. Say, how are you doing today? I haven't seen you in a while. Have you felt well? Whatever it might be. But it gives them a point of encouragement that, yes, others are thinking about them, they are remembered, and they're not alone in their struggles. So those things are important to do. Frida did that often with Arnold. There were times, as Arnold was getting sick towards the end of his life, that he wasn't here for a stretch of time, and if he would not be here, she would make note of that, and she would call, she would try to get a hold of him, and if he wouldn't answer the phone, then she would call me, and I would go over and break an inner, essentially, because you couldn't hear me pounding on the door, but, you know, go and check on him, and make sure he was alright. And there were a couple times where I found him quite sick. But somebody's watching, they're looking, they're paying attention, and they're following through, and that's what God gives us to do among each other in a right and proper way.

Now, switching gears just a bit, the Bible shows, again, that we have a conscious choice, right, with the words that we speak, whether they will be unto life or the opposite. In 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 3, it states that at the end time, one of the attributes that will be active and rampant, you know, it says people will be lovers of men rather than lovers of God, boasters, proud, those sort of things, and it lists in that listing, among other things, that they will be slanderers. Slander will actually be a mindset and an attitude and a function that will be quite prevalent at the end of the age. And the contrast that Paul is bringing out is, don't be like that. We ought to be different. Slander is a malicious statement. It's a false statement. A slander can be a defamatory statement, as in speaking something about somebody that seeks to destroy their reputation. And it's something that will be, again, ongoing and rampant at the end of the age. A slanderer is someone who uses words of slander to impugn someone else, you know, to speak evil of someone else in such a way that their reputation is brought into question or destroyed. To be honest with you, I can hardly turn on the news anymore and get through five or ten minutes of the morning news. We're ramping up to a presidential election season. We're in the midst of a president that is walking through an impeachment circumstance inquiry, and now it's moving through the various stages of government. And I can hardly stand to just turn on the news because of all the baggage that surrounds everything else. If it was just the facts, let's have the facts of things that concern the country in an honest discussion. That would be one thing. But there is so much slander, and I'll use that word, on both sides. There's so much mudslinging. There's so much baggage that encompasses all of that, that frankly I can hardly even stand to watch it. Facebook, much the same, and it fills up again. Election seasons, election cycles, there's so many different articles, news articles, various short clips that, frankly, I would put in that category of slander. Fake news, things that are intentionally uncomplementary in order to destroy somebody else's reputation. Or, let's take the worst picture we can find of this person, the most uncomplementary picture, and post it on the front and get everybody's attention. It gets shared around, paraded around on social media, and even at times by people in the Church of God. I would just say, brethren, let's seek to rise above those things. Again, we're entering into a political season, and things kind of get hotly debated around us in the country. A slander at the end of the age is something which will be prevalent. Let's rise above the fray on those things. I read it earlier, Proverbs 10, verse 18, says, Whoever spreads a slander is a fool. You know, a fool is a pretty strong word, and again, it's used in connection with someone that would spread those things. A slanderer is someone who passes words about people to other people, for the hopes of undermining that person's reputation in the eyes of others. And in terms of a crowd or a group, oftentimes it's passed in a whisper. It's kind of like, hey, you know those people. You think you know them. You think they're okay, but let me tell you the truth about them that you probably don't know.

You think you can trust them. You think you know them. Listen to this. And it often happens subtly or behind the scenes, and it gets spread, and it catches fire, and it moves about. It's slander, and the result of those things are for the purpose of the fact that those would hear the slander, or I'll throw gossip right along in that.

Gossip murmuring. In a lot of ways, those are linked together in the Bible, but the purpose is to take somebody and to form their opinion negative about someone who oftentimes they've never even met. Sometimes they maybe have never had an interaction with that person, and yet the words that are expressed can create a negative opinion in that way.

So we have to watch out for slander, watch out how we use our words, watch out for maybe grumbling or complaining or murmuring. Those things aren't actually received well in the Scripture, and there's a number of examples of them. It's my personal opinion, and I'll put this as my personal speculation, but it's my speculation that Satan the Devil was a, and is a, slanderer. And he uses slander for purposes of division, and in my mind that has to be, how else could a third of the angelic creation turn from God, walk away from a God that was perfect, that never did anything wrong, never created an offense, and yet a third of the angelic creation rebelled against a perfect God?

I think slander probably played a big part in that. Satan, who was the adversary, who rose up in opposition to God, who impugned God's reputation, maybe said things like, you know, you really can't trust God to do the right thing for us. I hear he's planning to create these, you know, human beings, these very frail physical beings, and yet he's planning to elevate them in his family above us.

They're going to rule over us. I hear they're going to be judging angels. It's what the Bible tells us, you know? So can we really trust God that he cares for us, that he's going to put our best interests first? You can kind of maybe imagine how this could begin and to be spread about. Because of its poisonous power, slander continues to be Satan's chief strategy down through the ages. He uses it to divide people, friends and families, nations. We look around the world at governments and nations in the world. We don't think that the things that we see on the world scene are completely physically generated.

There's a spiritual war that goes on, and powers and principalities and powers, and Satan is behind the scene with slander and accusations seeking to divide whomever he can. He used that tactic to divide the kingdom of God at that time, and he uses that tactic to divide what God is doing today. And it's no wonder that God hates slander. And as I said, right along that, you can tie in the words grumbling and murmuring and complaining and rumors and all these things that often happen behind the scenes, behind closed doors.

If you go back to the Old Testament and you look at just instances of murmuring and complaining, Israel did it a lot as they came out of Egypt. It would have been better to go back than to die in the desert. Why has God brought us out? Why has Moses brought us out here to die? And they murmured and they complained.

And what we see as an example is that it doesn't lead to life. It doesn't lead to growth and affirmation in a positive way. I do want to look at one example of murmuring and grumbling. Numbers 12. This happened on a national scale, oftentimes, the murmuring and complaining, but it happened individually on a personal level at times as well. So let's look at one example. We can see how God takes these things. Numbers 12, verse 1. Here it says, And honestly, that's all the Bible tells us about this woman. Did Sephora die and Moses was long lived and he married? Possibly. Moses was a prince of Egypt for 40 years before being out into the wilderness of tending sheep.

And as a prince of Egypt, Josephus writes that he was a great general and he conquered Ethiopia. And there were times where marriages between the royal families were kind of a pact of relationship and perhaps maybe Moses even could have married an Ethiopian woman at that time. The Bible doesn't say, but nonetheless, he came out of Egypt and now we come up to this point, Numbers 12. And they're complaining. They're murmuring against him.

Verse 2, it says, Now this man Moses was very humble more than all men who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, he says, Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting. So the three came out. And then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and he stood in the door of the tabernacle, and he called Aaron and Miriam, and they both went forward.

And in my mind, I kind of think this is a small kid being called to the principal's office times 100. You know, God says, Aaron, Aaron, Aaron and Miriam come forward. Verse 6, and he said, He is faithful in all my house.

And God says, you guys consider the relationship that I have here with Moses as a special relationship in the way that I speak to him, in the way that he actually sees the form of the Lord. He is my servant, and God says, you should have been afraid to speak against Moses, you know, to bring these accusations against him, because, you see, in doing so, they were actually speaking against God.

They were speaking against who it was that God had established as his servant to carry out what God has given him to do. And he said, you should have been, again, verse 8. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Verse 9, He actually acknowledged that the words of their mouth and the confrontation against Moses in this way was a sin.

Verse 12, You know, what a man Moses was. Here is the high priest, right? Aaron, the high priest, and his own sister stood up against his authority, and Moses is praying to God for his relief on their behalf. Verse 14, So, brethren slander and gossip and grumbling and complaining and murmuring, it's not good uses of the tongue that God gave us. It doesn't lead to life.

It doesn't build up into edify. And so you and I will have to be on the lookout for those things, those attitudes in our own life. We need to be above the fray. Again, as Paul said, at the end of the age, men will be slanderers. Let it not be so among us. Philippians chapter 2, verse 14 and 15, I'll just reference it for time. You can look it up later, but he says, Do all things without grumbling and disputing, that you would be a light and a crooked and perverse generation.

So, as the world is heading one way, and the people of God hopefully are unmovable, right, we should be unmovable, and we live our life another way, then it will be a light to the world around us for the truth of God. Something that's worth taking note of is science, scientific studies as well, and the consequences that they find regarding our words, and the effect that they have on the brain, on the psyche, on physical health.

Coming from this website, positivewordsresearch.com, there's actually a lot of information there, and you can Google and find other websites with much of the same information, but it reveals health benefits of positive words. So there's actually things about positive words that bring life, and things about negative words that would kind of lead towards decline in our own physical condition. And the conclusion of their study was that positive words, those things that you would choose to speak, can literally change your brain.

And they say, quote, Dr. Andrew Newberg, again, this is positivewordsresearch.com, Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neurologist at Thomas Jefferson University, and Mark Robert Waldman, a communications expert, have written a book together titled, Words Can Change Your Brain. In this book, they write that a single word has the power of influence and the expression of genes that regulate the physical and emotional stress of the body. When we use positive words like love, like peace and loving kindness, we can modify our brain functions by increasing cognitive reasoning and strengthening areas in our frontal lobes.

Using positive words, more often than negative words, can activate the motivational centers of the brain, propelling them into action. So there's actually a part of your brain that's impacted when you think positive and when you speak positive words. And I would just say, think of being negative or depressed.

You know, you don't hardly want to get out of bed when you're in that condition. So this positive focus actually motivates the body, motivates the motivational centers of the brain, propelling them into action. It says, on the opposite end of the spectrum, when we use negative words, we are preventing certain neurochemicals from being produced, which contribute to stress management. So when we allow negative words and concepts into our thoughts, we're increasing the activity of our brain's fear center, and we're causing stress-producing hormones to flood our system.

These hormones and neurotransmitters interrupt the logic and reasoning processes in the brain, and they inhibit normal functionality. Newberg and Waldman write, quote, angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic and reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes.

You know, I was thinking about it, if I've seen it on TV in terms of like a murder trial, and a person will say, well, I remember getting very angry, and I don't remember anything after that. You know, it's just, it's a blank. And I'm not a scientist, I couldn't tell you if it's an exact connection here, but it says, angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic and reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes. It's like, you're not thinking clearly when you're angry.

And blind rage, we've heard that phrase, blind rage, where you just, someone flies off the handle, and they don't even remember what took place. It goes on to say that complaining is harmful to your health. When we complain, we release the stress hormone cortisol, which I think leads to weight gain as well, so be happy. Be happy, it's a part of your diet plan. It says, when cortisol levels rise, our immune system is compromised, blood pressure goes up, we gain weight, and there is increased risk of heart disease.

It can also harm parts of the brain used for problem solving and other cognitive functions. This also happens when we listen to someone else moan and groan as well. So it's not just our own thought process, it's when we receive in and think about what somebody else is inserting into our brain. They say you can rewire your brain through positivity. Thankfully, we can change this habit.

Recent advances in brain research indicate that our brains are constantly being reorganized throughout our lives, changing with every thought. The more we use certain pathways, the stronger they get, and the easier it is for the brain to travel along those data highways. So you think about something and you establish a pathway through your thought of a particular thing, and then it's easier to have that same thought again and to continue following down that positive pathway.

It says the more we use certain pathways, the stronger they get, and the easier it is for the brain to travel along those data highways. In other words, having a thought makes it easier to have the same thought again. The things we think about repeatedly shape our personality. That's important to consider. The things that we fill our minds with, that we dwell on, that we meditate on, the things that we think about repeatedly shape our personality, we become what we think about most.

Cut down on complaining and your brain will physically change so that you are less often triggering pessimism, fear, and other negative mental states. For me, the takeaway, one of the major takeaways from the article, is the things we think about repeatedly, again, they shape our personality. Can we think of a biblical principle of what it is we ought to be thinking about that shapes us in a positive way?

Mr. Wilson went to the answer for us, and we'll conclude here as well. Philippians 4 and verse 8. Philippians 4 and verse 8. Because again, if what we think about shapes our brain, what we think about thought processes, what should we be thinking about?

Philippians 4 and verse 8, the words of the apostle Paul. He says, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy, he says, meditate on these things. Think on these things. You know, roll these things around in your head. Fill your mind with these things. Because if it's out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, then the things that we speak are going to be what's rolling around in our heart and our brain, and we want to build up those things to be true and noble and just and pure and praiseworthy. So, brethren, in conclusion, words really do mean things. What it is that comes rolling off our tongue means an incredible level of... carries an incredible level of accountability, and it means a lot. Not only what we say, but the tone in which we say those things. Death and life are truly in the power of the tongue. The ability God has given us through our words is both to build up or to destroy. And God has set before us a choice. He says, I've set before you life and death, blessing or cursing, but He says, choose life. And so when it comes to the words that we speak, brethren, let us choose life with our words, let us encourage, let us build up. And if we do so, then the words of our mouths and the meditations of our heart will be acceptable in the sight of God, our strength, and our Redeemer.