“Stick and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” is a common saying you may have heard as a child. The intent may be good, but it’s not usually true.

Words can bless, and they can curse.

WHAT DO OUR WORDS SAY ABOUT US?

We can tell a lot about what’s in our heart from our words. And not many of us want to be judged by the careless words we have spoken over the years.

With our words we’ve been backstabbers, gossipers, and even blasphemers. The power of life and death is in the tongue –Proverbs 18:21

But there is hope.

GREAT POWER

Praise the Lord that his power to save, forgive, and transform is far greater than the power of our tongue.

Yet, the Lord wants to use our words, and their power, to give life to all who hear. As Pastor Walt reminded us yesterday, “gentle words don’t just mend fences, they build houses.”

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

Below is list of all the scriptures and quotes Pastor Walt referenced in his sermon. (Also, if you weren’t able to catch the sermon, you can watch the full service from the link in the above image.)

Main point: Let the words of your mouth give life to those who hear.

1. The power of words.

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 29:20
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body. Proverbs 18:8
The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. Proverbs 25:23
A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin. Proverbs 26:28
A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. Proverbs 29:5

2. The weakness of words.

By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond. Proverbs 29:19
A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. Proverbs 17:10
In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23
Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart. Proverbs 26:23
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin. Proverbs 26:27-28
A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. Proverbs 18:6
From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Proverbs 13:2-3 (18:7, 10:14)
“You are not a Christian unless you have been made speechless! How do you know whether you are a Christian or not? It is that you ‘stop talking.’ . . . You do not begin to be a Christian until your mouth is shut, is stopped, and are speechless and have nothing to say.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones

3. The potential of words.

A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18
“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. . . . The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Proverbs 12:25
“To you also, Jesus says, ‘I know your works.’ You see no beauty in any action that you do. All seems imperfect, blemished and defiled. You are often sick at heart of your own shortcomings. You often feel that your whole life is one great arrear, and that every day is either a blank or a blot. But know now, that Jesus can see some beauty in everything that you do from a conscientious desire to please Him. His eye can discern excellence in the least thing which is a fruit of His own Spirit. He can pick out the grains of gold from amid the dross of your performances, and sift the wheat from amid the chaff in all your doings. Your tears are all put into His bottle. Your endeavors to do good to others, however feeble, are written in His book of remembrance. The least cup of cold water given in His name shall not lose its reward. He does not forget your work and labor of love, however little the world may regard it.” J.C. Ryle
To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is! Proverbs 15:23
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4