Week 3:
A Revival in Your Mouth!
David says, "I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle." (Psalm 39:1) We usually think of other parts of our body as being agencies of sin, but not our tongue. David says "I will guard my mouth."
Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt." Not pepper! Sometimes anger gets in our speech and spoils everything that we've said. Psalm 12:3 says, "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things." These surely are stern warnings to believers.
Psalm 15 asks, "Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart." So there you have it: walking and talking. Walking uprightly, speaking the truth in your heart. And in verse 3, "He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend." I believe we sabotage a lot of our prayers because we're doing what James says - one minute we're blessing God, and then afterwards we're cursing men. Not blaspheming or using vile language, but criticizing them. One minute our tongues are speaking about holy things, and the next, unholy things. You see, the tongue is an index of the heart. Do you wonder that I shudder when I look at a large congregation singing, "Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise..."? Goodness me, if they did have 1,000 tongues, there would be 999 times more gossip and criticism and slander than there is now! Earth would be hell and the Church would be as bad. Oh, no! If we can't control the one we have, how could we manage 999 more? How often do we sing our great Redeemer's praise? For five minutes in two Sunday morning hymns? And the rest of the week it's careless and silly talk. Talk of anything but the deep things of God.
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