https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/The-Words-We-Speak.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Ephesians 4:17-24<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. There is a Proverb that stands out in my mind – Proverbs 26:18-19<\/p>\n
A. You cannot cover up lies with a claim that you were making a joke.<\/p>\n B. We are judged by what we say, even the casual things said without much thought –\nMatthew 12:35-37\n
1. Why?<\/p>\n
2. Words reveal what you are thinking – I Corinthians 2:11<\/p>\n
a. When a person speaks, he reveals what is in his heart<\/p>\n
3. The tongue is hard to control – James 3:3-12<\/p>\n
a. We let slip out things we don’t necessarily want revealed<\/p>\n
b. But if our heart is corrupt, what is going to slip out? – Mark 7:20-23<\/p>\n
4. Thus our words can justify or condemn us<\/p>\n
C. Thus the need to control what we say<\/p>\n
1. Proverbs 13:3 – An uncontrolled mouth brings destruction<\/p>\n
2. Proverbs 17:27-28 – Calm and sparing of words<\/p>\n
D. If we are Christians<\/p>\n
1. We’ll walk worthy of our calling – Ephesians 4:1<\/p>\n
2. We’ll be different from the world – Ephesians 4:17<\/p>\n
3. We’ll be different people – Ephesians 4:24<\/p>\n
E. Among the examples is our speech changing – Ephesians 4:29<\/p>\n
1. Greek: sapros<\/i> – unfit for use, worthless, corrupt, rotten<\/p>\n
a. It was used for rotten food, decaying trees<\/p>\n
b. In other words things disgusting and offensive<\/p>\n
2. Psalms 5:9 – The speech of the wicked<\/p>\n
II. Constructive (What to say)<\/p>\n
A. Teaches<\/p>\n 1. A few words that impart understanding is better than thousands of empty\nwords – I Corinthians 14:19\n
2. About God – Psalms 71:17-18<\/p>\n
3. Words that teach wisdom and justice – Psalms 37:30<\/p>\n
4. Teaches knowledge – Proverbs 15:7<\/p>\n
B. Uses knowledge rightly, giving life – Proverbs 15:2-4<\/p>\n
C. Helps people learn – Proverbs 16:21-24<\/p>\n
D. Our speech should reflect our values – Ephesians 5:3-7<\/p>\n
E. Comfort and encourage – I Thessalonians 5:11<\/p>\n
III. Appropriate (When to say)<\/p>\n
A. Words fitly spoken – Proverbs 25:11-12<\/p>\n
B. Speaking too soon is foolish – Proverbs 18:13<\/p>\n
C. Knowing when to given encouragement – Isaiah 50:4<\/p>\n
D. Timing is important. Words chosen in due season – Proverbs 15:23<\/p>\n
IV. Gracious (How to say)<\/p>\n A. We look grace and mercy for ourselves. We should also give to others in our\nwords.\n
1. Grace – a gift not earned, owed, or necessarily deserved<\/p>\n
2. Mercy – giving less than a person deserves because of justice<\/p>\n
B. Our speech is to be seasoned with grace – Colossians 4:6<\/p>\n
C. Our speech is to give grace to those who hear – Ephesians 4:29<\/p>\n
D. Wise people use gracious words<\/p>\n
E. Again, notice the emphasis on sweetness to be persuasive – Proverbs 16:21-24<\/p>\n
V. Don’t grieve God<\/p>\n
A. Paul lists out several changes by Christians – Ephesians 4:25-29<\/p>\n
1. Be honest<\/p>\n
2. Control your temper<\/p>\n
3. Work so you may give<\/p>\n
4. Speak well<\/p>\n
B. Why? – Ephesians 4:30<\/p>\n
1. So we don’t grieve the Spirit of God<\/p>\n
2. God wants the best for us and that means changing to be more like Him<\/p>\n
C. Are you becoming more godly in your words? Or are you grieving God?<\/p>\n
\n
Based on an article by Terry Slack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:17-24 I. There is a Proverb that stands out in my mind – Proverbs 26:18-19 A. You cannot cover up lies with a claim that you were making a joke. B. We are judged by what we say, even the casual things said without much thought – Matthew 12:35-37 1. Why? 2. Words…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642,981,1059,357,48,451],"class_list":["post-23996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity","tag-communication","tag-edification","tag-encouragement","tag-grace","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14682,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-appreciate-that-you-post-your-sermon-texts-and-not-just-audio-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":23996,"position":0},"title":"I appreciate that you post your sermon texts and not just audio files","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, Hope this email finds you well I just wanted to send a quick message to express my appreciation for your website.\u00a0The fact that you take the time to post sermons in text form rather than audio-only is a tremendous help in studying the word.\u00a0I have learned a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37661,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/being-a-conversationalist\/","url_meta":{"origin":23996,"position":1},"title":"Being a Conversationalist","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Romans 12:10-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A young lady wrote and asked, \u201cHow can you be a good conversationalist? I\u2019m so boring. I don\u2019t know how to strike up an interesting conversation.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a good question because talking to people is something we just take\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-word-and-deed\/","url_meta":{"origin":23996,"position":2},"title":"In Word and Deed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Colossians 3:12-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There needs to be a consistency between the things we say and the things we do \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People understand that it is one thing to talk about something, but often something else to actually to it.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hearing-the-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":23996,"position":3},"title":"Hearing the Spirit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 30:5-6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people are convinced that the Holy Spirit directly speaks to them \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet, these same people will claim things contrary to the teachings of the Bible \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And they rarely agree with each other II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible is the product of the Spirit \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94965,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/contradiction-or-expanded-details\/","url_meta":{"origin":23996,"position":4},"title":"Contradiction or Expanded Details?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Many are those who think they see \"contradictions\" everywhere in the Bible, but my experience has been that after more careful consideration, these so-called contradictions are but an expansion of details, both of which can be true. For example, one common claim is that Luke says\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45272,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-have-a-right-to-our-own-opinions\/","url_meta":{"origin":23996,"position":5},"title":"Do We Have a Right to Our Own Opinions?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 1:16-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When two disagree, one will say \u201cWell, everyone has a right to their own opinions.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a statement saying, \u201cI disagree with you, but that is okay. Your thoughts are just as good as mine.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In some sense this is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}