Me and My Big Mouth #1

By Rev Robyn Plocher for the Reinbeck UMC

Me and My Big Mouth

Sermon #1

Learning to Speak God’s Language

Sunday, August 21, 2011

There are six things that the Lord hates,
   seven that are an abomination to him: 
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
   and hands that shed innocent blood, 
a heart that devises wicked plans,
   feet that hurry to run to evil, 
a lying witness who testifies falsely,
   and one who sows discord in a family.   Proverbs 6:16-19 NRSV

Message: 

Jane worked as a customer service representative for a large insurance company.  One day Jane was talking to a woman on the phone who was complaining about her claims adjuster.  The woman insisted that the claims adjuster had done her wrong and she was not getting the full coverage she was entitled to.  Jane looked up her policy, then began to explain to the woman that she had never purchased the type of insurance she insisted she had.  The customer became more and more irate and was soon screaming at Jane.  Patiently, over and over again, Jane pointed out that no one was trying to take advantage of her.  It was simply that she had never purchased the coverage she claimed to have.  Finally, the customer lashed out at Jane, cursing her with the words:  I hope you never have any children and if you do I hope they all die. 

Jane responded to this personal attack with what I think was incredible restraint.  She told the woman she had, in fact, just buried her son a month ago and that she would not continue to speak to her if she was going to be abusive.  Then Jane hung up.  Jane was suspended from work.  This incident set off yet another when one of Jane’s co-workers posted on facebook that she didn’t really think Jane had a son die, but rather that she simply made the story up in order to get attention.

Sadly, there seems to be an epidemic of uncontrolled, dangerous and dirty talk in our society.  And while this sermon series is primarily about our speech, our tongues and our mouths, let me be absolutely clear at the outset that everything said here over the next four weeks also applies to words “spoken” as text messages, blogs, facebook posts, voice mail and other social networking or media. 

____ says, “Whatsoever is in the heart overflows into speech”, but today we could say that Whatsoever is in the heart overflows to our computers and cell phones as well.  Vicsious, threating and demeaning and vulgar messages abound in cyber space.  The source of many of these messages are men, women and youth who would claim to be Christians! 

Just as natural babies must learn to speak the language of their elders, so to Christians must learn how to talk God’s way.

What is God’s way? 

The introduction to the book of Genesis in The Message Bible says the following: 

            “(the book of) Genesis uses words to make a foundation that is solid and true.  Everything we think and do and feel and (speak) is material in a building operation in which we are engaged all our life long.  Tiere is immense significant in everything that we do.  Our speech and our actions and our prayers are all, every detail of them, involved in this vast building operation comprehensively known as the Kingdom of God.  But we don’t build the foundation. The foundation is given.  The foundation is firmly in place.”

The foundation was built by the spoken word of God.

“God spoke: ‘light’ and light appeared.

God spoke: ‘Sky! And the sky appeared in the middle of the waters, separating the waters.

God spoke: ‘Separate!’ and the water of earth separated the land

God spoke:  ‘Earth! Green up and grow’ and plants grew up on earth

God spoke: ‘Lights! Come out! ‘ and stars appeared

God spoke: ‘Swarm!’ and the oceans were filled with fish and whales and the sky was filled with birds

God spoke: ‘Life’ and the world was filled with cattle and reptiles and lions and tigers and bears and gorillas and lady bugs and butterflies and ear whigs and bats …

God spoke: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature…so he created human beings.  He created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature…

God looked at everything he had made and it was so good, so very good!

This is God’s way of speaking.  God’s words have divine power and authority.  God speaks to create and to bring forth life.  Proverbs 18:2-22 tells us:  The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Our tongues, the words we speak, are powerful! And the way we use our tongues has consequences for our lives and the lives of others.   In our tongue we have the power to bring life or take life.  Made in the image of God, made God-like, we are meant to reflect the glory of our creator.  We are meant to use our words to bring life and new life.  IF, and this is a very important IF, IF we are living in obedience to the will of God then the words that come from our mouth and our finger tips will create goodwill, not dissension.  Our words will express love, not hate.  Our words will generate peace, not war. God speaks, and what he speaks he calls forth and becomes reality.  Is it then too far fetched to believe that the words we speak create our reality—we who are made in the image of God?  We who whose tongues hold the power of life and death?  

We can use our words to cut others, just as surely as a knife would cut.  I spent about 2 hours at a Midas shop recently waiting for some work to be done on my car and had an opportunity – if you can call it that – to watch a couple of episodes of Judge Judy.  One case involved a man who was suing his ex because she still had possession of his belongings.  She counter-sued because he had been harassing her.  She had copies of things he had posted on the internet and recordings from her voice mail of him threatening her life, calling her every name in the book and using the most profane language you can imagine – all because she wouldn’t let him come to her house to get his bedroom set and tools.  Tell me, would you let this man into your home????

Lying and gossiping, threats and curses tear relationships apart, usually to the point that they can’t ever fully be repaired.  Put downs that destroy another’s spirit or confidence are just as serious to God as the murder.  It is not a coincidence that when someone says something to really hurt  us we say they “stabbed us in the back”.    Words – our words - hold the power of life and death.   Death to relationships.  Death to self-worth for the one who is the target of such words.  And death to the speaker for speaking this way is ungodly  and sinful.  How many times have you used ungodly speech over the years? How many times have you confessed and repented of that sin? . 

 On the other side of the coin, words of praise, encouragement, gratitude bring life and hope and comfort. These are the words that build loving relationships. These are the words that are the building blocks of the KOG.     It is that simple. 

You see, Genesis told us plainly, we are put here for one primary reason.  We are created in the image of God and we are to be mirrors reflecting the glory of the image of god so others will see Him in us.  Then they will desire to live in loving relationship with him also.  In all this, God is glorified on earth as he is in heaven. 

As Chrsitians we must bring our mouths as well as our hearts into God's service.  Too many people are trying to live in the blessings of the Lord while talking like the devil: Now you may be thinking, I don’t have this problem.  I don’t use vulgar language or threaten anyone’s life. 

If you think this sermon isn’t for you, I want to talk to you for a minute.

Maybe you don’t send dirty text messages or post threats on Facebook.  I don’t either.  Maybe you are so disciplined in your speech that you never cuss or curse. I rarely do.   Maybe you are a perfect parent and you have never seen that crushed look on your little girls face after you screamed at her. I’m not a perfect parent.  But I’ll bet you complain.  I’ll bet you get trapped into  negative thinking patterns that spill over into your speech.   I challenge you to think right now of one conflicted relationship in your life.  Think honestly about this conflict and your part in it.  I’ll bet you’ll find that at least part of the trouble is found right here, under your nose. 

We have a lot more territory to cover in the upcoming weeks.  But where can we start today?  How can we begin to bring our troublesome tongues into alignment with God’s will?  How can we begin to recognize our own complaining and negativity?  Well, as Sherris said a few weeks ago in the children’s sermon, like Nike, we’re just gonna do it. 

Here’s how I propose to start: 

1.       Listen to yourself!  You will probably be surprised at how often you complain over the course of a day.  Awareness of your own negativity and speaking habits is the starting place.

2.      Make a confession list.  Confession, as in ‘confession of faith’.  We can’t be negative if we are daily confessing the goodness and glory and promises of our God.  Your confession list will include things that can be backed up by the word of God which we speak out loud over our life, our families and our futures.  (Remember, the spoken word has divine power)  I learned about this activity from the book Me and My Big Mouth by Joyce Meyer.  When God began teaching her that was too negative in her thoughts and speech she realized God could not work in her life as long as she was so negative.  She eventually disciplined her speech so she was no longer talking negatively, but she was not yet saying anything positive.  Leaving devil talk behind and learning to speak God’s language must go hand in hand.   The Apostle Paul, in Romans 4:17, speaks of God’s promise to Abraham and says this: God … gives life to the dead and calls forth things that are not as though they were.” Like the promise spoken to barren Abraham and Sarah that their descendants would  be a great nation.  Like Jesus calling Lazarus forth after three days in the tomb of death.  When we speak aloud our confession of faith we make our faith firm.  Slowly hope begins to have a greater hold on us than negativity.  We begin to believe in a positive future rather than complain about our pasts or the people who are making our life today miserable.  We begin to change.  We begin to think and speak God’s language.

She began to make a list of things God was teaching her with the scriptures to back them up.  Twice a day for six months she confessed these truths out loud.  In her house, by herself , not to any other person, but declaring the word of God. 

Here are a few of the promises I am calling forth in my life:

1.       I am living in joyful anticipation of the future. – Romans 8: 18-21

2.       

3.       God has set everything right between him and me. Salvation is his doing, not mine.   Romans 10: 10

3.  There is only one memory that truly matters – the memory of God’s grace and love.  And      remembering, I keep a firm grip on hope.

--Lamentations 3:19-21

4 When life is a burden I can withdraw in prayer and wait for hope to appear.  –Lamentations 3:25-30

5.  Christ is with me, every hour, everyday, always.  Matthew 1: 23 / Matthew 28:20

6.  There is not one thing –no power or circumstance  - that can separate me from God’s love!   Romans 8:31-29

What about you?  What promises of God will appear on your list?  What confessions will make your faith firm and set you on the path of learning to speak God’s language? 

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