Destined for Victory

Paul Sheppard: Paul is saying let no words that cause death or decay to the hearer come out of your mouth. Don't speak death over other people. Don't speak decay. Don't speak things that don't honor God, that don't bring life, that aren't leading to something good and life-giving and positive. Don't let your mouth form words that are going to bring death to the hearers.

Guest (Male): The power of life and death are in the tongue. That's Proverbs 18:21 and this is Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard. One of life's toughest battles is the one we fight with our own tongues—what we say, how we say it, when we say it. Today, you'll be encouraged to build people up with a spirit of kindness and conviction instead of beating them up with the stones of criticism and condemnation.

Remember to come see us at pastorpaul.net to hear any of our recent messages on demand, including today's. That's pastorpaul.net. Subscribe to the podcast at Spotify or wherever you enjoy podcasts. Now, let's get started with today's Destined for Victory message, "Say the Right Thing."

Paul Sheppard: Say the right thing. If you're making notes, jot that down. It's extremely important. Say the right thing. Look at verse 29 of Ephesians 4 and you'll see why I'm calling that the fourth point. Verse 29 in the English Standard Version is where I'm reading it from because I like the way it's put. It says this: "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."

Let's stay there for a second. I need you to let that sink in and soak in. "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." Now, let me help you understand right away: in this verse, Paul is not telling us you've got to stop cursing or cussing, some of us would say. You've got to stop swearing. There are places in Paul's writings where he tells people to clean up your mouth even in terms of swearing or cussing. He does go there in some passages. Here, that's not his point.

His point here is you've got to stop letting corrupting words come out of your mouth. Which begs the question: Okay, what does he mean by corrupting words? Glad you asked. And of course, you know if I'm asking the question, I'm about to give you the answer. And the answer is: the Greek word that is translated "corrupting" here in the ESV is a term that has to do with something perishing or something decaying, something that is losing life, something that is rotting to death. That's what the Greek word is rooted in. Let no rotting words, let no perishing words, let no words that bring death and decay come out of your mouth.

Notice it's "corrupting." The word is not the issue; it is what the word is sent to say and do that is the issue. In other words, Paul is saying let no words that cause death or decay to the hearer come out of your mouth. Don't speak death over other people. Don't speak decay. Don't speak things that don't honor God, that don't bring life, that aren't leading to something good and life-giving and positive. Don't let your mouth form words that are going to bring death to the hearer.

Now, let's take some time and talk about this. You can see this isn't a hooping message, this isn't a "get happy" message. I'm not trying to run you around your living room. "Oh, I was blessed by that word." No, this isn't a "blessed by the word," this is "get your mouth in order." I'm a pastor. A pastor is a spiritual parent. We can't just give you all fun foods. You've got to feed on some vegetables, spiritually speaking. You've got to get some things in your system that will make you grow and become a better person.

Child of God, let me just tell you something real straightforward. I love you enough to tell you the truth. Some of us have got to put off the mess that's been coming out of our mouths in many cases for years. We've got to renew our minds, and now we've got to begin to speak the right things because there's no more time in God's plan for you to have corrupting words come out of your mouth. You need to speak things that are good, things that are wholesome, things that are glorifying to God and beneficial to people.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had someone in your life—maybe when you were a child, maybe when you were a youth, maybe when you were a young adult, maybe you are an older adult—at any stage in your life, have you ever had a person or multiple people speak corrupting words to you? Decaying words. Words that don't produce life, they produce death. Words that don't do anything positive for you. Words that are sent to bring death and destruction and decay. Have you ever had that experience? I hope you haven't, but chances are you have.

Because there are so many people around us who don't know how to watch what comes out of their mouth. So many people were raised in an environment where there was a lack of discipline where things that were spoken are concerned. A lot of you came from families—let's just put it out there—where folk would pop off at the mouth, say any old crazy thing at all, and that was normal in your household. That was normal in your upbringing.

And so if you are like most of us, you have experienced these corrupting words, these decaying words, these words that bring death rather than life. Someone spoke not just unpleasant words, but they spoke words that tried to reverse the momentum or the progress you're making in your life. Somebody has spoken words whose mission was to snuff out your light, or snuff out your hope, or snuff out your dreams. Words that tried to stop you dead in your tracks from doing anything productive and God-glorifying.

You ever had anybody who heard you speak a dream or a passion or a pursuit, "Here's what I'm going to do with my life," and then when they got through talking, if you allowed those words to land in your heart and in your mind, you would shut off all of your ambition because they just tried to kill your dream? And the fact is many of us have experienced that at some point in our lives. So Paul speaks up and says to the church at Ephesus and, by revelation and by inspiration, to all of us down through the centuries, Paul says a child of God who is the product of the life-giving Word of God—where God said, "I so loved the world that I'm sending my Son that whoever puts his or her trust in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."

God spoke that word over us. His life, His forgiveness, His salvation, His transformation has been spoken to us by the Son of God. And we who are the product of life-giving words from God have no business producing death-giving words to other people. You and I have no business telling somebody what they can't do, what they're not smart enough or rich enough or whatever—good-looking enough, whatever it is. You and I are the product of the right thing being said to us from God. And He says you're my child. You've got to put off the old self, you've got to renew your mind, and you've got to put on the new self. And the new self has got to learn to speak the way I speak as your Savior.

Let me tell you something: it's important what comes out of your mouth. You've got to learn that your words have consequences. Your words have impact. You might think you're joking, but it is where it lands and how it is received that is going to matter. And so you and I have to learn to watch what we say.

Guest (Male): Let's pause right there for a quick timeout, but don't go away. The second half of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Sheppard is coming right up. Well, we can't say it often enough: it's because of you, our listening friends and partners, that we are able to air these messages on multiple platforms the whole year through. You are truly impacting this world for Jesus Christ and we have emails and handwritten letters to prove it. Your donations do make a difference. Please give us a call at 855-339-5500 to make a gift over the phone, or give safely and securely online at our website, pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net.

What does it mean to speak life to the people around you? We'll find out next in the rest of today's message, "Say the Right Thing."

Paul Sheppard: I grew up a little Sunday school child and in those little kids classes, I can remember some of the songs. One of them was: "Be careful little mouth what you say. Be careful little mouth what you say. There's a Father up above looking down in tender love. So be careful little mouth what you say." They had other verses: "Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little feet where you go" and all that. I remember that. It was good to be a little Sunday school child. I tell you what: it taught us a lot of simple yet profound things. And we were taught you've got to be careful with what you say because it matters in heaven. That song told us God's looking down, He's listening to every conversation, you have to be careful.

So I want to encourage you to take inventory. What you been saying lately over other people's lives? Just go back, push rewind. Think about some of the conversations you've been having with people that you have some level of relationship with. Has it been God-glorifying? Has it been inspiring? Has it been something that would help them produce life? Or have you been speaking corrupting words? Corrupting a vision they had, corrupting a dream they had, corrupting their plans to do better than they're doing right now?

Just take inventory and find out. Because some of us, if we would be honest, some of us really just are so used to popping off at the mouth—first thing that flies by your mind, you let it out of your mouth. Child of God, you are a son or daughter of God. You have no business having diarrhea of the mouth. I said that on purpose just to shock you, and I hope that hit. Because that's not a corrupting word; that is a jarring word to get you to look at what's coming out of your mouth.

And you've got to stop saying any old thing, just let it run out your mouth. "Oh, I didn't mean that, I just said that." Well, that's the problem. You don't just say any old thing. And just because a thought comes doesn't mean it needs to come out of your mouth. Sometimes you have a crazy thought and you need to stop it right at the door, at the gate. Don't let that thing go down to your vocal cords and get out of your mouth. Not everything that's true needs to be said, and in some of the stuff that crosses your mind, it isn't even true and it sure doesn't need to be said.

Ooh, this is good. People not buying this message or anything like that—well, we don't—we not selling CDs, we not here anyway—but the fact of the matter is you need the truth of it. The fact is we've got to learn that God will bless us and bless people through us once we take seriously the fact that we are to put on the new self, and the new self is designed to make sure that we say the right thing. That's the point. You've got to learn to say the right thing.

I've got a lofty goal for this particular part of the series. I want today to be the last day that some of you will be okay with having the wrong things come out of your mouth. From this moment on, I pray that for some of us, we will arrest our words. We will put them in strong restraints and they only get sifted before they come out. You'll be better because you speak better. You'll be thought of as better. You'll be appreciated better because people know when you open your mouth, good things happen. Good things are said. When you open your mouth, you inspire, you encourage, you do the right thing with what you say. And we're calling it in this point by saying the right thing.

How many diseases would have already been cured if some "popping off the mouth" somebody hadn't said something to a brilliant child that kept them from going into a certain science or medical field where they could have learned through medical research some things? God had already put in them the ability to be brilliant in that area. Some of the diseases that we're losing loved ones from right now, I am sure could have been cured had somebody not opened their mouth and killed a dream in a child.

How many scientific breakthroughs would have already occurred? And through scientific research, our world would be far advanced from where we are now. But that the wrong things were spoken over the person who had it in them to help change this world in some ways. How many inventions would have already changed our lives had some brilliant child or young person not had corrupting words limit what they decided to pursue? Do you see what I'm saying? What you say matters. Don't be a dream killer. Be a person who pushes for good, pushes for the right things to happen in somebody's life.

Listen: all of us who are parents, all of us who are mentors—whether you have nieces or nephews, grandchildren, whether you have just children in general that you speak into their lives in a special way—you've got to understand that is a stewardship. Meaning those kids don't belong to you, they belong to God. Their future belongs to God, but it is your job to be part of what prepares them to be exceptional and great in this world. So you've got to understand: you can't just say any old thing to your nieces, your nephews, certainly your kids, your grandkids. You just can't say any old thing to people who pay attention by your influence to the things you say and the things you do.

And we have to learn: it's a stewardship. Just like you have to answer to God for the money—how you give, how you worship with it, how you give to others—just like you've got to answer to God for what you do for others as we saw in the last message, you've got to do good for others. The same thing pertains to what you say. You've got to learn to say the right things. You've got to learn to say the right things.

When you see these children, they need to hear life come out of your mouth. They need to hear good things come out of your mouth. They need to hear about their potential and the possibilities. They need to hear about their worth and their value. They need to know from you that you see them in their future and exciting things are yet to come. They need inspiration from you. They don't need death from you. Nobody needs you to speak death over them. That's the work of the enemy of their souls. He is the one who comes to kill and steal and destroy, but you represent the one who comes to give life and that more abundantly. Since you are the recipient of the life-giving love of God, you need to be one who is a conduit and that same love that's changing your life begins to change the lives of people around you.

Guest (Male): Let's make it a point to always choose our words carefully because they have the power to bring healing or to bring harm to the people who cross our paths. To learn more about Destined for Victory's mission and purpose, you can always stop by our website, pastorpaul.net. But another option is to stay with us right now for just a couple more minutes to hear a conversation I once had with Pastor Paul.

Paul Sheppard: Well, you know, when I think of "victorious," my mind goes back—I'm a kid growing up watching TV in the '60s. So my mind goes back to the Wide World of Sports. Oh yeah. There was an announcer named James McKay, Jim McKay, something like that. He had this classic line where he talked about "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." And I love just thinking about how thrilling it is to be victorious. I don't care whether it's Monopoly or something really serious; I want to win.

And in life, we can win in Christ. That's what the Bible tells us: that we are victorious in Him. And "victorious" means that we're following His lead, that we're letting the Holy Spirit take us where He wants us to go in life. We're saved by His grace, and then we're simply following His direction. And of course, the Word of God is so key to following God's direction because the Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway. And so those who tune in to broadcasts like Destined for Victory are really supposed to be receiving guidance so that we can walk in and live in victory. And that's what I pray is happening as people tune in day by day.

Guest (Male): And we say it every day: in Christ, you are destined for victory. And our purpose, our passion, is to show you what the victorious Christian life is all about. And our prayer is that you'll live it. Well, in Ephesians chapter four, the Apostle Paul talks about our new life in Christ and what it should look like. And this month, we've got a great thank-you gift to share with you, a great new booklet called Truth, Temper, and Treasure. In this outstanding resource, Pastor Paul does a deep dive into three key areas: telling the truth, controlling our temper, and honoring God with our tithes and offerings.

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to grow in these areas. That's Truth, Temper, and Treasure, our thank-you gift this month when you make a generous donation to Destined for Victory. You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's 855-339-5500. Or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538.

Paul Sheppard: Many marriages would have not only survived but thrived had somebody not said something that could never be taken back. We need to learn that what we say matters. And God calls us, the people of God, to be free from corrupting, decaying, death-providing words. We need to be people who make a difference for good in this world.

Guest (Male): That's tomorrow in our continuing message, "Say the Right Thing." But until then, remember: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.