Jonathan Burson - August 2, 2026
/Transcript
Oh, interesting that Proverbs is mostly written as instructions from a father to his son, which I'm not gonna be talking much about that today, but I thought that was worth mentioning. So, you can see here Proverbs 4:7, acquire wisdom and with all that you acquire, acquire understanding, which hopefully we are all approaching this study that we've been doing in Proverbs with that attitude. Here are the topics we've looked at so far. We talked about how wisdom starts with awe, talked about guarding the control center, guarding our heart, two roads, one choice planned carefully, which I have actually not heard, but it was probably quite good, wisdom for walking through conflicts, integrity when no one is watching, leadership under God, and last week, wisdom for work.
Today we're going to be talking about the power of a word. Our first passage Proverbs 17:28 says, even a fool when he keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. Well, it's a little bit late for that.
I already signed up to speak. My mouth is gonna be open for next 40 minutes or so, but that gets us directly to the heart of the matter. The words of the tongue reveal the character of the heart. Words tell us about the person who speaks them.
Proverbs 15:7, the lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not so. Proverbs 16:23, the heart of the wise gives insight to his mouth and increases learning to his lips. Proverbs 17:20, he who has a crooked heart finds no good and he who is perverted in his tongue falls into evil. So those are some proverbs that talk about speech revealing the heart.
Let's also look at Matthew chapter 12 verses 34 to 37. This is when Jesus is very strongly rebuking the Pharisees. He says, "Brute of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
A good man, out of the good treasures of his heart, brings forth good things, and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." The words we say matter. Hopefully, we are approaching this study in Proverbs with a desire to learn how to live our everyday lives in a way that is pleasing to God, how to gain this wisdom and apply it to our lives.
We can study all that Proverbs has to tell us about speech. We can study all that the Bible tells us about speech, but if we don't get the heart right, we've missed God's point entirely. If you want to fix your tongue, you must start with your heart. Proverbs 4, 23 to 24 says this, "Guard your heart with all diligence, "for from it flow the springs of life.
"Put away from you a perverse mouth, "and put devious lips far from you." Mr. Larry has already preached a very good sermon on guarding your heart in this summer series, so I'm not going to preach it all again. I would just like to briefly look at some verses from Ephesians 4, verses 22 through 24, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
When we place our trust in Christ and his death for our salvation, we are given a new heart, a new nature. If we want to live the way God wants us to live, we must reject our old sin nature and put on the new perfect heart that God has given us. And of course, we can only do that through his power, not ours. So let's look at a biblical example of speech revealing the heart.
Mark 1, verses 40 through 42. "And a leper came to Jesus, pleading with him and falling on his knees before him, and saying, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean,' and moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing, be cleansed.' And immediately, the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed." What a glimpse into the heart of Christ.
We see in moved with compassion, that compassion causes him to act, and he says, "I am willing, be cleansed." And talk about the power of a word. Here is the power of the word on display. Think of the power of a word in the mouth of God.
Here are just a few examples I could go on for the rest of my time talking about this. But here's a few examples. Let there be light, and there was light. Cursed is the ground.
We just looked at I am willing, be cleansed. Peace be still in Mark four, when Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves. Mark 11 talking about the fig tree incident during the last week of Christ's life on earth before his crucifixion. May no one ever eat fruit from you again, and no one ever did.
I am, John 18, and all the folks that had come to arrest him fell over backwards. That's pretty powerful. So why am I pointing these out? It's not like any of us has that kind of power.
I can't say milkshake up here, and it just comes, so that would be nice. Let's look further at the fig tree incident in Mark 11. This is after Jesus has already cursed the fig tree. I think a day later.
Let's look at verses 20 and 23 of Mark 11. And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And being reminded, Peter said to him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which you cursed has withered." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him." Now, some people might look at this passage and say, "See, you just have enough, have to have enough faith. It's all about faith, and if you just have enough, you can do anything." But notice the first sentence that comes out of Jesus's mouth.
"Have faith in God." Our faith is not the source of our power. Our faith is not even the source of our salvation. God is the source of our power and our salvation.
I think the point Jesus is really trying to make here is not the extent of what we can do with enough faith. It's the extent of what God can do through us. Without him, we can do nothing. And if we are trying to manipulate God with our faith, we've missed that point.
So, let's go back thinking about the power of a word. Our words do have power, both creative and destructive. Our words affect those around us. The words we say can build up or tear down relationships, which are a lot more important, though sometimes less noticeable, than mountains.
Ephesians 4, verse 29, let's look at some verses that talk about our speech affecting others. "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment so that it will give grace to those who hear." I love the imagery of this verse because that word "unwholesome" could also be translated "rotten." It's often used as an adjective describing food, like rotten fruit or rotten fish.
Most people don't like rotten fruit and rotten fish. And keep that in mind as we read these verses in Proverbs. Proverbs 18, 20 through 21, "From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied. With the produce of his lips he will be satisfied.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Death and life are in the power of the tongue. The words we say matter. Proverbs 10, verse 11, "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked covers up violence."
Proverbs 12, verse 18, "There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 15, 4, "A tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but perversion in it breaks the Spirit." James 3, I don't think any discussion on our words would be complete without this passage. James 3, starting in verse 2, "For we all stumble in many ways.
If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridle the entire body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horse's mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also. Though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wills.
So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our existence and is set on fire by hell.
For every kind of beasts and birds of reptiles and creatures of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a fountain pour forth from the same opening, fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives?
Or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh? Again, we come back to the issue of the heart. Which nature are we allowing to control us?
Which nature are we speaking from? Back to Proverbs. Proverbs 10, 19 through 21. "When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, "but he who holds back his lips has insight.
"The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver. "The heart of the wicked is worth little. "The lips of the righteous feed many, "but ignorant fools die for lack of a heart of wisdom." As James said, the tongue is set on fire by hell.
No wonder Solomon says that when there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who holds back his lips has insight. Does this mean we should go through the rest of our life miming whatever we want to say? I don't think you wanna sit here and watch me try to do that for my remaining time. Look just a few verses down.
The lips of the righteous feed many. We look just a few verses back in the same chapter at Proverbs 10, 11 again. "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, "but the mouth of the wicked covers up violence." That sounds to me like speaking is happening if your mouth is a fountain of life.
Sometimes Solomon and ultimately God says we shouldn't speak and sometimes he says we should. Which is it? Let's look at another of Solomon's inspired writings. Ecclesiastes chapter three.
Look at verse one and verse seven. "There is an appointed time for everything "and there is a time for every event under heaven. "A time to be silent and a time to speak." Okay, so we just gotta figure out there's a time to be silent, there's a time to speak, and that's a large part of wisdom.
Knowing when to say anything, not just what to say, but when to say it. Knowing when to be silent and when to speak. Proverbs puts high value on that. Proverbs 15, 23.
"A man has gladness in an apt answer "and how good is a timely word." Proverbs 25, 11. "Like apples of gold in settings of silver "is a word spoken in right circumstances." It's important that we know when to speak.
So how do we know that? How do we know when to speak and when to be silent? I found some Proverbs that I think give some guidelines for that. Yes, I think there are some Proverbs and some other passages in scripture.
Proverbs 18, 13 says, "He who responds with a word "before he hears, it is folly and shame to him." We should listen before we speak. James 1, 19 says a very similar thing. "Everyone should be quick to listen, "slow to speak, and slow to become angry."
Back in Proverbs, Proverbs 15, 1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, "but a harsh word stirs up anger." Unless you're trying to stir up anger, probably shouldn't use a harsh word. Seems pretty reasonable. Proverbs 17, 27 again.
All right, I'm not sure if we've looked at this one yet, but anyhow, Proverbs 17, 27, "He who holds back his words has knowledge, "and he who has a cool spirit is a man of discernment." Again, going back to the heart. Where is our heart? Are we operating out of that new nature that God has given us?
Proverbs 26 verses four and five, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, "or you will also be like him. "Answer a fool as his folly deserves, "that he not be wise in his own eyes." Ephesians 4, 29 again. You can tell I love this verse.
"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, "but only such a word as is good for edification, "according to the need of the moment, "so that it will give grace to those who hear." Proverbs 22, 17 through 21, "Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, "and apply your mind to my knowledge, "for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, "that they may be ready on your lips, "so that your trust may be in the Lord "I have taught you today, even you. "Have I not written to you excellent things "of counsels and knowledge, "to make you know the certainty of the words of truth "that you may correctly answer him who sent you." Again, we come back.
"Apply your mind to my knowledge, "keep them within you, "that they may be ready on your lips, "so that your trust may be in the Lord." Our, he is the only one who can give us the power to do anything right, including speaking. So if you fell asleep at the beginning and you're just now waking up, that's fine, because talking about talking has gone a lot faster than I thought it would, and this is my last slide. But here are the big points that I wanted to bring out.
Get the heart right. Ephesians 4, 22 to 24 again. "That in reference to your former manner of life, "you lay aside the old self, "which is being corrupted in accordance "with the lusts of deceit, "and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind "and put on the new self, "which in the likeness of God has been created "in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Proverbs 9, 10.
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Again, we started out our study in Proverbs with that thought of wisdom beginning with awe. That is our foundation for anything we should be doing is our relationship with God and our reverence for him. John 15, five.
Again, getting back to that relationship. "I am the vine, you are the branches. "He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. "For apart from me, you can do nothing."
And I didn't have this verse in my notes, but in Hebrews, I can't remember the exact reference, but I think it's Hebrews four towards the end, where it says the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. You wanna look more at words? We've got plenty of time. We can all sit in our pews and just read the scriptures.
There's tons in there that talks about talking and our speech, God's speech. But it all comes back to our relationship with him. Get the heart right. Let's close in prayer.
Lord, we thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity we have to gather together to learn more from your living, powerful Word. Thank you for all that you have revealed to us in that. We thank you especially for the relationship that you have brought us into through your son and his death on the cross.
Pray that as we go about the rest of our day, that we would keep that in mind, that we would walk in fellowship with you, that we would abide in you. We pray these things in the Lord Jesus' name, amen.
