“And You Say...”Luke 7:31-35

"Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News

Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Luke 7:31-35“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

Luke 7:31-35For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and

you say, ‘He has a demon.’

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax

collectors and sinners!’

Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

“I have no respect for justice and no mercy for defenseless humanity. I ruin

without killing; I tear down homes; I break hearts and wreck lives. You will

find me in the pews of the pious as well as in the haunts of the unholy. I am

wily, cunning, malicious, and I gather strength with age. I have made my

way were greed, mistrust, and dishonor are unknown; yet my victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and often as innocent! I feed on

good and bad alike. I never forgive and seldom forget.

(The Speaker’s Quote Book, Roy B. Zuck, p. 176)

“I have no respect for justice and no mercy for defenseless humanity. I ruin

without killing; I tear down homes; I break hearts and wreck lives. You will

find me in the pews of the pious as well as in the haunts of the unholy. I am

wily, cunning, malicious, and I gather strength with age. I have made my

way were greed, mistrust, and dishonor are unknown; yet my victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and often as innocent! I feed on

good and bad alike. I never forgive and seldom forget.

(The Speaker’s Quote Book, Roy B. Zuck, p. 176)

Gossip

The Power of Words

The Power of Words

•God created the World

Genesis 1:3

“And God said, “Let there be light,”

and there was light.”

Psalm 33:6

“By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the

breath of His mouth all their host.”

Hebrews 11:3

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is

seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

The Power of Words

•God created the World

•Jesus is the Word, who Sustains the World

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and

the Word was God.”

Hebrews 1:3

“He upholds the universeby the word of His power.”

The Power of Words

•God created the World

•Jesus is the Word, who Sustains the World

•Our Words have Power

Proverbs 18:21

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

Proverbs 12:18

“There is one whose rash wordsare like sword thrusts,

but the tongue of the wisebrings healing.”

Judged by Our Words

Judge by Our Words

•Reveals condition of our heart.

Matthew 12:34-35“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart

the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure

brings forth evil.”

Matthew 12:34-35“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart

the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure

brings forth evil.”

Judge by Our Words

•Reveals condition of our heart.

•Justifies or condemns

Matthew 12:36-37“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be

condemned.”

Matthew 12:36-37“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be

condemned.”

Matthew 12:36-37“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be

condemned.”

Judge by Our Words

•Reveals the condition of our heart.

•Justifies or condemns

•Limit Your Speech

Proverbs 13:3

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;

He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”

Proverbs 17:27

“Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”

Proverbs 21:23

“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

Keeps himself out of trouble.”

1 Peter 3:10

“For ‘Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his

tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit’.”

Gossip Is Serious Sin

Gossip Is Serious Sin

•The Danger is Real

Opened Mouth

Area

2 Corinthians 12:20

“For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you

may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander,

gossip, conceit, and disorder.”

2 Corinthians 12:20

“For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you

may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander,

gossip, conceit, and disorder.”

Leviticus 19:16

“You shall not go around as a slanderer

among your people.”

Romans 1:29“God gave them up to a debased

mind to do what ought not be done. They are filled with all manner of

unrighteousness, evil, coventousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are

gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish,

faithless, heartless, ruthless.”

Romans 1:29“God gave them up to a debased

mind to do what ought not be done. They are filled with all manner of

unrighteousness, evil, coventousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are

gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish,

faithless, heartless, ruthless.”

Gossip Is Serious Sin

•The Danger is Real

•Reveals Secrets

Proverbs 11:13

“Whoever goes about slanderingreveals secrets;

But he who is trustworthy in spiritkeeps a thing covered.”

Proverbs 20:19

“Whoever goes about slanderingreveals secrets;

Therefore do not associatewith a simple babbler.”

Gossip Is Serious Sin

•The Danger is Real

•Reveals Secrets

•Quarreling

Proverbs 26:20

“For lack of wood the fire goes out,And where there is no whisperer,

quarreling ceases.”

Gossip Is Serious Sin

•The Danger is Real

•Reveals Secrets

•Quarreling

•Separates Friends

Proverbs 16:28

“A dishonest man spreads strife,And a whisperer separates close

friends.”

Proverbs 17:9

“Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matterseparates close friends.”

Gossip Is Serious Sin

•The Danger is Real

•Reveals Secrets

•Quarreling

•Separates Friends

•Internalized

Proverbs 18:8

“The words of a whisperer are likedelicious morsels;

They go down into the inner partsof the body.”

Gossip Is Serious Sin

•The Danger is Real

•Reveals Secrets

•Quarreling

•Separates Friends

•Internalized

•A Fool

Proverbs 10:18

“The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

And whoever utters slander is a fool.”

Overcoming Gossip

Be Trustworthy

Proverbs 11:13“Whoever goes about slandering

reveals secrets;But he who is trustworthy in spirit

keeps a thing covered.”

Overcoming Gossip

Overcoming Gossip

•Be Trustworthy

4 Tests for Our Speech(Ephesians 4:29)

Ephesians 4:29 Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupting Let no corrupting talk come out of talk come out of your mouths, but your mouths, but

only such as is good only such as is good for building up, as for building up, as fits the occasion, fits the occasion, that it may give that it may give

grace to those who grace to those who hear.hear.

Overcoming Gossip

•Be Trustworthy

4 Tests for Our Speech

(Ephesians 4:29)1) No corrupt talk2) Only good for building up3) Fits the occasion4) Gives grace

Overcoming Gossip

•Be Trustworthy

•Separate Yourself

Proverbs 20:19“Whoever goes about slandering

reveals secrets;Therefore do not associate

with a simple babbler.”

Overcoming Gossip

•Be Trustworthy

•Separate Yourself

•Be Wise“The one who

conceals hatred has lying lips,

And whoever utters slander is a fool.”

Proverbs 10:18

James 4:11“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who

speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law,

you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”

Titus 3:2

“Remind them ... to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”

Overcoming Gossip

“For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.”

Proverbs 26.20,

•Be Trustworthy

•Separate Yourself

•Be Wise

•Don’t Add Fuel

Overcoming Gossip

•Be Trustworthy

•Separate Yourself

•Be Wise

•Don’t Add Fuel

AccurateDirectConstructiveConcernedSubtle

Psalm 141:3“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the

door of my lips!