John K. Jenkins Sr - The Power and Problem of the Tongue

There 's a little red muscle that lies in your mouth and has created a lot of drama for people-a little red muscle called the tongue. Proverbs 18 speaks about it and states that there is power in that little muscle to produce death or life. What an incredible statement! It says that the power of life and death is in what you say. Y’all know that already; I know this 12:00 crowd knows that. You’ve said things that have killed people; you’ve said things that encourage folk. What comes out of your mouth has the capacity and potential to either speak life or death. Some marriages have not survived because some folks couldn’t shut their mouths. Some kids have grown up, and some of y’all are adults today, still struggling with self-image problems because your parents never spoke anything positive or affirming into your lives. Some of you are raising your kids to be devastated because you don’t know how to say anything positive about them. You keep feeding them negative things and saying bad things to them, and you wonder why they never do anything better. The scripture says death and life are in the power of the tongue. The words you speak bring life or death. It would benefit us to take just a few moments-I promise I won’t preach long; I’ll be done shortly. While I’m here, bam, I' m gonna punch you upside your face. I’m going to hit you hard with a quick jab, and then I’ll be done. It’s a quick sermon; not a whole lot to say. It boils down to this: what you say can either bring life or death. As a matter of fact, the scripture says, «and those who love it will eat its fruit.» That means that what comes out of your mouth has consequences, and you’ll have to eat the fruit of what you said. If your marriage doesn’t last because you kept running your mouth and talking negatively, then you will have to bear the consequences. If your children never grow up to be everything they ought to be, because you never spoke any encouraging words to them, you will find yourself reaping the fruit of them coming back home-in some cases, never leaving home and living with you. Come on, look at your neighbor and say, «he’s preaching better than you’re saying amen.» The problem is that we have issues with our tongues. Matthew 12:36 says this: I’m not turning there; just jot it down if you’re taking notes. Matthew 12:36 states that one day we must give an account to God for every idle word. Think about what that says. That 's what the scripture says: one day you and I will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of everything that we spoke out of our mouths. That 's horrifying, isn’t it? When you think about all the things you said, all the lies you’ve told, all the curse words you’ve uttered. Who 's in the cursing ministry? Let me see-who’s in the cursing ministry? Come on, be honest. How many of y’all have a cursing problem? You know those words sometimes slip out. Now, let me tell y’all this: here’s what I said about you all. Let me tell you what I said about the 12:00 crowd. I told the 8:00 service and the 10:00 service this: the 12:00 crowd are the honest crowd. Y’all are honest people; you don’t try to pretend. You don’t try to cover up; you don’t try to perpetrate anything. Y’all come down and talk to me after service and say, «Pastor, this is my girlfriend; we’ve been living together for three years and have two kids.» They don’t try to perpetrate; that’s true! «Pastor, I was at the club last night, and I got drunk.» The 12:00 crowd is honest. The 8:00 crowd is a little different; they are pretenders. The 8:00 crowd pretends like they have it all together. They put on their Sunday clothes, wear a tie, look good, and seem religious, but the reality is they are jacked up people. The 8:00 crowd won’t tell the truth. They won’t come and confess; they’ll dress it up. I appreciate y’all, the 12:00 crowd; y’all are honest people. You tell the truth. The 8:00 crowd walks in holding hands like everything’s great, but they just finished cussing each other out in the car before coming in. Somebody say, where does that put the 10:00 crowd? The 10:00 crowd is a mix of the 8:00 and 12:00 crowds; it’s a blend. The 8:00 crowd tells lies and pretends, so I don’t have to talk about lies and stuff, because y’all don’t lie; y’all tell the truth. But gossip-y’all have another problem: y’all like to talk about people. Somebody say, «What is gossip?» Gossip is when you talk with someone about someone, and neither of you is part of the problem or the solution. Write that down! You 're engaged in gossip when you’re running your mouth. That 's one of the ways your tongue can get involved, and the scripture says that one day you and I will have to stand before our God and give an account of everything we say.