September 18 2016 Telling The Truth

Telling The Truth

Memory Verse: Exodus 20:16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."

Psalm 34:12-13 (GN) "Would you like to enjoy life? Do you want long life and happiness? Then keep from speaking evil and from telling lies."

I. WHY DO WE LIE?

Type - Motive

The cruel lie - Resentment

The cowardly lie - Fear

The conceited lie - Insecurity

The calculated lie - Greed or selfishness

The convenient lie - Laziness

II. HOW TO TELL THE TRUTH

1. TELL THE TRUTH completely

Proverbs 10:10 (GN) "Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble."

Proverbs 28:23 (LB) ""In the end people appreciate frankness more than flattery."

2. TELL THE TRUTH consistently

Ephesians 4:15 (Amp) "Let our lives lovingly express the truth in all things - speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly."

Proverbs 11:3 (GN)"people who can't be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty."

Proverbs 13:17 (LB)"Reliable communication permits progress."

3. TELL THE TRUTH lovingly

Ephesians 4:15 (GN)"Speak the truth in a spirit of love."

Ephesians 4:29 "(Speak) only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

4. TELL THE TRUTH tactfully

Proverbs 12:18 (GN) "Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal."

Proverbs 16:23 (GN) "Intelligent people think before they speak."

Ecclesiastes 8:6 (GN)"There is a right time and a right way to do everything."

THE REAL PROBLEM....

Matthew 12:34 (GN)"For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of"

August 19 2012 Managing Your Mouth

MANAGING YOUR MOUTH
James 3:1-12

James 3:2 - We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

I. Why must I watch what I say?

1. My tongue directs where I go.
Vs. 3 - When we put bits in the mouths of horses, we can turn the whole animal.
Vs. 4 - Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

2. My tongue can destroy what I have.
Vs. 5 - Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire.
Vs. 6 - It sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Proverbs 21:23 - If you want to stay out of trouble, be careful what you say.
Vss. 7-8 - All kinds of animals have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

3. My tongue displays who I am.
It is inconsistent (Verse 9)
Vs. 10 - Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Vs. 11 - Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs?

The Problem is my heart.
Matthew 12:34 - For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

II. What’s the solution?

1. Get a new heart.
II. Cor. 5:17 - Rid yourself of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit.

2. Ask for God’s help.
Psalm 141:3 - Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.

3. Think before you speak.
James 1:19 - Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.