SAYING AND WALKING
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
In verses one and two of this glorious chapter we have had to take our shoes off as we stood on such holy ground of the revelation of That which was from the beginning. We were given to see The life manifest! But now we read some four time of the opening of man’s mouth in such words as, If we say, and If we confess. (See verses 6, 8, 9, 10.) We are overcome at the amazing privilege that the elect are granted to dare open their mouths to reveal the abundance of their hearts! Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
And we hear the invitation of the great and gracious Sovereign echoing down through the ages to His people, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isa. 1:18). What a glorious King we have! But let us not assume on this privilege! Let us remember who we are, and especially maintain the awareness of His glory! And in order to maintain that awareness in our hearts, let us refresh ourselves in some passages of His holy Scriptures!
Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Zechariah 2:13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. Would to God that more of the ‘bodies’ who present themselves for public worship across our land truly were the temples of the Lord! For such is the case of every true believer in Christ. 1 Cor. 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For one of the manifest evidences that the Lord has come to occupy a human soul as His temple is its learning to be silent before the Lord. For the Lord’s coming into the soul of man is introduced as He was to his youthful servant, Samuel, who was instructed to say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. Dear soul there is a reason why the Creator hung two ears on the side of our head, but inserted only one mouth! We should do twice as much hearing as speaking! Faith itself comes by hearing the Person of the Word! (Rom. 10:17).
But this is a most unique age! In years gone by people used to write their private thoughts and daily impressions in a diary. It usually had a locking clasp, and was then kept in a locked drawer. But not in this day! Everybody has to “blog,” and “Twitter” every imaginable shred of information about themselves even to total strangers. It is a generation of, “Let God and everyone else be silent and listen to me!” We have reverted to the demeanor of small children who will not cease to talk. There used to be a saying, commonly used across our land. “Children should be seen and not heard!”
Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? How shocking would that verse be if it were printed on the front page of every newspaper, and featured on every TV channel across our land?
And virtually everything is to be talked about in this age. Nothing is free from everyone’s opinion! How vulgar is it going to get since “Talk Shows,” are the rage of this generation? And “Shock Jocks,” are sought for by radio stations to boost their ratings, no matter the effect to the hearts of their listeners! 1Cor. 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. But God’s word clearly states, For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. (Ephesians 5:12.) Jeremiah 9:5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
And do you realize what this condition tells us? It clearly tells us that we are in a lawless age! It is an age of casting off God and any awareness of His glory. It is an age of absolutely no consciousness of any respect due to His holy name! Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
And as we do not witness a nation of silent souls, we know that the Lord is not indwelling them as his temple. And as every mouth has not been stopped, but on the contrary, widely opened to blab ceaselessly, we know that the law of God has not been exacted upon their souls.
God even complains of religious mouths and lips working fine, but at the same time the hearts of these being far away from Him! Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
The ‘art’ of meditation, requiring silent contemplation, is also on the extinct list! God consciousness within the inner man is nowhere evidenced! Silence is considered as a waste of time! – God have mercy!
Conquering the Tongue
But conquering the mouth is an evidence of spiritual maturity. 1 Thess. 4:10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; The increase of which the Apostle speaks is the individual’s growth in grace; the maturing of the spiritual man. And the very first area in which he seeks for evidence of maturing is in their studying to be quiet.
But the conquering of the tongue cannot be done by the energy of the religious flesh! It is full of poison that will pollute that soul, and other souls of men. It can only be dealt with by the mighty cross of the Lord Jesus Christ! James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
God must put the coals of his purifying fire of holiness to it in order for it to be used as a vessel to sound forth his gospel! Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
Judgment by Words
Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Contrary to some belief man shall be judged by his works! (Read Matthew 25:31-46). For works evidence the heart! There is no true faith without works. (Jas. 2:20,26). God has even ordained a specific walk as the good works to evidence those created in Christ Jesus! (Eph. 2:10). And as already stated, nothing evidences the heart like its direct connection and channel to the mouth!
Therefore the very words of man’s mouth shall be used as the ruler to measure his spiritual condition. Listen to these verses. Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. – America, God is listening to you!
In his letter to the Ephesians the Apostle Paul lists foolish talking and jesting in the same passage as fornication and covetousness! And then he states that because of all these sins, including that of the unruled tongue, cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. (Eph. 5:1-6).
1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
Isaiah 3:8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Pastor Gene Breed
February 28, 2010