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The Power of the Tongue

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Bible verse : Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

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We talk a lot every day. In the book of Proverbs in the Bible, there are many lessons that teach us what to say as children of God.

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First, Proverbs 12:18 says this.

[The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings      healing.]
There are people who speak carelessly as they come out without thinking deeply     when they speak. Proverbs says that the actions of these people are like murder     by stabbing others with a knife.
We must always be careful not to hurt others with our careless words.

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The Bible continues to tell us what we must say as children of God.
That is a word of wisdom. The words of a wise person are like medicine to treat the pain of others.
As children of God, we must strive to become wise people who speak words that can heal the hearts of others.

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Proverbs also says:
[From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.(Proverbs 18:20)]
Our good words serve as food when the hearer is hungry.

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Words of sincere concern for others help that person to be courageous. Those words give new strength to those who are struggling.
As God's children, we must strive to be used for good things that save others with our good words, just as God's word saved us.

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Proverbs 12:19 also says:
[Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.]
We are often tempted by the tongue to lie. A lie that denies one's wrongdoing can momentarily be thought of as protecting oneself.

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But lying is one of the things God hates. Even in the 9th commandment of the Ten Commandments that God has given us, it clearly says that lying to others is forbidden.
[You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.(Exodus 20:16)]
God always exposes people's lies.

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A child of God must always strive to speak honestly. When we are tempted to lie, we must remember God who reveals and punishes the lie. We must pray to the Holy Spirit to overcome the temptation to lie and to speak the truth.
The honest words we say may be ignored by people, but God remembers them forever. [Truthful lips endure forever,]

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Proverbs 18:21 says what we say determines his future.
[The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.(Proverbs 18:21)]
The tongue is the body that allows us to speak. What this word means is that the words spoken through the tongue can be a factor in determining a person's success or failure.

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In James 3:6, the tongue we use when we speak is called “fire.”
There are many wildfires every year. Tens of thousands of trees have been burned by forest fires. In some cases, wildfires result in loss of homes and loss of lives.
Most large forest fires start with very small embers.

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It is also expressed that the tongue is like a small rudder that holds the direction of a large ship.
[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.
(James 3:4)]
It is a small ‘rudder’ controlled by a navigator that enables a large ship to steer and sail to its desired destination.

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The ship can operate normally only when the navigator corrects the direction of the rudder. However, if the navigator accidentally takes the wrong direction of the rudder, the ship will go in a completely different direction, or the ship will sink in a big accident. If the navigator is not skillful with the rudder, terrible things happen that can sink the ship.

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The expression that the tongue is like fire and the rudder of the ship means that you can face great danger because you cannot control your tongue. In this way,
a single word can lead to a great quarrel and even loss of human life.

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In the book of James in the Bible, it is said that a person who does not stumble in speech is like a perfect person.
[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.(James 3:2)]
It tells us that it is very difficult to say wise and good words without making mistakes in what we say every day.

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All of us who believe in Jesus and are saved must strive to speak words that please God. When we speak, we must be careful not to speak indiscriminately.
We must always seek the help of the Holy Spirit to speak wise words and speak words that benefit others. If the Holy Spirit guards our tongue, we can all speak what pleases God. I hope that you will realize the power and importance of words through the words of Proverbs and James, and strive to become people who speak wise words that heal others and make them feel good when you speak..

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)