With These Lips

"With These Lips"

Pastor Tom Millner

July 12, 2009

SpiritSong Worship Center

Exodus 20:16, Matthew 15:10-11; 16 - 20, Ephesians 4:29-32

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40

This statement sums up the total of the Christian's walk. There is a single message you will hear in every sermon preached in this Church: God loves us so much that He gave the life of His only Son so that we can be made whole before God when we act in that knowledge and because of that we are called to put love Him above all else and to love each other with the same degree of love we give ourselves! If you aren't hearing that in the sermons from this pulpit, ask one of us to explain where it was in the message! Today's message is no exception.

What is this thing called gossip? Why is it so inviting and easy to engage? What's the real harm in it? What do I do about it?

Wikipedia defines gossip as follows: Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing (unproven) facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted. The term also carries implications that the news so transmitted (usually) has a personal or trivial nature, as opposed to normal conversation.

You know its gossip when the voice lowers, the eyebrow raises! Gossip is the only sound that travels faster than sound! Seems the only time we dislike gossip is when it's about us. We have a whole society built upon gossip. What about "inquiring minds"? We've even raised it to an honorable place on line and in newsprint "The Gossip Column." There are TV shows filled with it. But, embracing gossip is like sleeping with a 30 foot python; one day you'll wake up being devoured by it!

Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, "Our people come to us and pour out their hearts, confess certain sins and needs. Let's do the same. Confession is good for the soul." One confessed he had a fondness for extra dry martinis. Another confessed she had a fascination with seedy movies. The third confessed that he loved placing wagers and a good game of poker. When it came time for the fourth one, he wouldn't confess. The others pressed him…. "Come on now, we confessed ours. What's your secret or vice? Finally he said, "It's gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here!"

Why is gossip so appealing? What is there about a juicy piece of information, a morsel, and a tidbit? What is there that makes us lend an ear or whisper a word? There's the complex answer and then the simple one. Let's start simple and build from there. Notice in the spelling of a word we don't like – S I N… what's in the center? "I, I, I, I, I, I" Me, me, me, me, me, and me! Life's all about ME! But of course, the "me" that I see which is the "me" I strive for you never to see, will be the source of destruction for both you and me, don't you see?

We participate in gossip because we want to be "in the know." Information is POWER! I heard that preached in corporate America over and again. Never mind that being in the know comes from ones who don't know! If you tell me all you know then I'll know what you know, plus what I know – then I'll know more than you know! So one of the reasons we engage in gossip is to make us believe we have the knowledge edge. That can feel good for a while, but it doesn't last. It's like that first hit on the crack pipe… or the first drink...If the first was so good, the second must be better. The addiction starts and the high from the first will never be reached again. Just can't get enough to get away from "me." So, let's talk about you, or you, or better still, about YOU.

We participate in gossip because it often puts others in a worse light than we see ourselves. Honey, I didn't want to say this but – you know, he's got a trail of woes that would make cow manure look like stepping stones! The worse I paint the picture of you, the less light is reflected on me. When all the buzz about you has fizzled, though, I still have to live with me… now I have to live with guilt as well. Boy, does that make me angry!

Anger – emotion: another reason why we gossip. "I've just been holding this in for too long now. I have to tell somebody… Did you know that Elmer chose that sleazy hussy's brownies over my hand made chocolate fudge?" Because we're angry, hurt, feel rejected, left out, overlooked, disregarded, neglected, or otherwise disenfranchised, we want to hurt back. As our Sister Audrey said in her sermon a few weeks ago; "Hurt people hurt people." We conveniently forget about Christ's admonition to "turn the other cheek." Instead of dealing with our own iceberg, we want to sink someone else's ship! Proverbs 26: 20-24 reads: "……

So what's so bad about a little gossip? We were just sitting around chit-chatting about this and that and about how we feel about stuff. What's wrong with that? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." How does gossip square with that?

When I was a freshman in college, the Pastor of my home church was accused of trying to kiss my childhood sweetheart. My Mother, who was faithful to write me every week until she became an invalid more than 10 years ago, penned the news to me. When I was home from college one weekend later, I said to my girlfriend (with her sister present) that I could not fathom how the Pastor could have done such a thing – I found it hard to believe. Two weeks later, my mother wrote me that the father of my childhood sweetheart (who happened to be a Deacon in the church) had called him to demand that she "shut me up" or be sued for slander. I was appalled. What on earth was going on, I thought. Here I was 120 miles from home (before cell phone days) with virtually no contact with anyone from the community, yet I was being accused of slander – for WHAT? I subsequently found out that my girlfriend's sister worked in a local factory alongside the boyfriend of my childhood sweetheart whose father had called my mother… Get the picture? My words of "disbelief" at the unfathomable happening had been translated to my calling the girl a liar. I was so traumatized by the whole incident that I allowed the enemy to turn me away from the church for many years – all because of gossip! I can still feel the pangs of grief over the whole incident. Gossip destroys – it kills – His Spirit in us!

Paul in his letter to the Church in Rome, chapter 1, puts gossip right up there with murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, and stealing. I don't see the fruit of the Spirit nor loving God and others anywhere in any one of these! You don't take a gun, shoot your neighbor and say; "just a little murder." You don't stab a passer by and say; "just a little chest wound." Yet, we dare to make light of a "little gossip." What's it gonna harm? After all, I can say what's on my heart... Jeremiah 17:9 says; "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jesus said in Matthew that out of the mouth comes all sorts of evil from the heart. The Bible forbids us to both utter what is untrue and to utter what may be true but the uttering of which arises from a mood or motivation that is aimed at someone else's ruin.

Hearsay is never permitted as testimony in a court of law. In Biblical times two witnesses were required for a testimony to be valid. Both had to be of reputable character. The Mishnah (a distillation of rabbinic wisdom) stated that anyone who was commonly known to be loose-tongued or mean-spirited was disqualified as a witness – the testimony was worthless at all times and in all circumstances. Also, if the person gives false testimony and the accused is found innocent, the one giving false testimony is sentenced to the fate of the accused if he had been found guilty. Furthermore, if found guilty by virtue of one's testimony, should the penalty be death, the one giving the testimony delivers the death blow!

Something more… One would think that the best way to act sometimes is to just ignore the gossiping person and say nothing. Not good enough in ancient Israel! If you listened to gossip and did nothing to denounce it as gossip, you were deemed guilty of gossip yourself on the spot and subject to the punishment for bearing false witness!

So, if gossip is so bad for us and the Body of Christ of which we are each a part, what do we do about it?

T.H.I.N.K!

T Is it True?

H Is it Helpful?

I Is it Inspiring?

N Is it Necessary?

K Is it King?

If what I'm about to say doesn't pass that test, I keep my mouth shut!!!

Psalm 19:14 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my Redeemer.

"Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control…in this lifetime?" by Pastor Suzanne Taczak

"Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control…in this lifetime?"
by Pastor Suzanne Taczak

Our Scripture readings today are from Galatians 5:22-25, Matthew 7:16-20, Colossians 3:12-17

Today, I invite you to turn with me to a passage of Scripture that's a favorite of mine! It describes "the fruit of the Spirit". Galatians 5:22-23 says, "... The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, (patience) long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

This is our third and final study on "The Fruit Of The Spirit"...Fruit born by those who walk in the Spirit, who are led by the Spirit. Pastor Tom and Pastor Les have discussed the first 6 fruit of the Spirit. A summary of these follows:

Love - active good will, toward God and man, that passes knowledge

Joy - gladness, delight, which is inexpressible and full of glory

Peace - harmony, concord, that surpasses understanding

Long-suffering - patience, self-restraint in the face of provocation

Kindness - sweetness of temper that places others at ease, born of mercy

Goodness - benevolence, kindness in action

Today we will discuss, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To begin with, let’s define "faithfulness" & make sure that we’re talking about the same thing. If you were going to define faithfulness, as Paul uses it in the N.T., how would you do it? Well, if you looked in the dictionary, you would find a technical definition that says, "To follow through with a commitment regardless of difficulty." That’s a good definition. Listen to what the Bible says. Here are some of the scriptures that challenge us to be faithful.1 Corinthians 4:1-2 challenges us to be faithful in stewardship. Ephesians 6:21 talks about being faithful in service. 1 Timothy 5:9 speaks of being faithful in our marriages. Revelation 2:15 speaks of being faithful in witnessing. Romans 12:12 says we are to be faithful in prayer. Colossians1:7 speaks of being faithful in ministry. Revelation 17:14 says we are to be faithful in following the Lord. Proverbs 31:26 speaks of faithful instruction. 3rd John 3 says we are to be faithful in the truth. Revelation 13:10 speaks of faithfulness even in times of persecution. Revelation 2:10 says we are to be faithful unto death & then we’ll receive the crown of life.

So what about faithfulness? Just as surely as Jesus was tempted to be unfaithful, we will be tempted to be unfaithful - in our marriage, in our relationship with the Lord, & in the church. That’s what Satan does. He will tempt us to be unfaithful.

We need to seek the Holy Spirit’s reinforcement & develop regular, positive, spiritual habits. We're being pressured on every side to develop negative habits, tempting us to be unfaithful in church attendance, to be unfaithful in prayer, & in studying the Word of God. But if we’ll say, "Get thee behind me, Satan," & be determined to serve God faithfully, then people will be able to count on us. We’ll be consistent, & trustworthy, & reliable. We’ll develop these habits so they come automatically. And when Satan tempts us, we will not be severely tempted because we’ve developed the habits of faithfulness, & we will not quit.

Next, let's look at gentleness: by implication humility, meekness. Gentleness (or meekness), then, is that quality by which "we treat all men/women with perfect courtesy, that we can rebuke without hate, that we can face the truth without resentment, that we can be angry and sin not, that we can be gentle and yet not weak." True strength in Christ is expressing ourselves with gentleness, humility and courtesy. Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Finally, let's talk about self control and means "one holding himself in.” "The virtue of one who masters his/her desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites" Those "led by the Spirit" will produce the fruit of self-control in their lives. We have self-control over bad tempers. We have self control over judgmental and critical attitudes. We have self-control over an unforgiving spirit. We control our vices! This one is huge for me! I have shared many stories where I lost self-control in the past and I hurt the ones I loved deeply! Remember that our spirit and our flesh are at war against each other. We struggles with addictions to food, sex, drugs, alcohol, people, laziness and the list goes on and on...

Are you ruled by the flesh or are you ruled by the Holy Spirit? By our own efforts, these things could never be produced in us as they were found in Jesus. But the wonderful promise is that, through the ministry of His own Holy Spirit dwelling in us, Jesus' own perfect character - as defined by these qualities - can be exhibited in us! Just imagine - the perfections of Jesus in us!! How, then, could we ever place enough importance on what this wonderful passage offers to us? Perhaps you need such a message of hope this morning. Perhaps you've been frustrated with how far short you fall of living the sort of life God wants you to live. Perhaps you've been struggling to measure up to what you believe a man or woman of God should be. Remember Pastor Tom has said so many times that you no longer need to measure up. God sees you as His child. Jesus died for us so we no longer have to measure up! Maybe your failures have almost caused you to give up hope. The only one who can live the life of Jesus is Jesus Himself. We could never do it in our own power. But the good news is that Jesus, through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, is able to live His own life in and through us - if we will yield ourselves to Him. As Paul has joyfully affirmed, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

When it comes to the Holy Spirit producing His fruit in your life, the place you must begin, then, is by being sure that you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, have been delivered from your sins through His sacrifice on the cross, and have invited Him to take rule over your life.

As we grow in the Lord, and as we grow more and more to be instructed in the Scriptures, we will grow increasingly to perceive the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And and as we perceive His leading, we are to do what He says. When He commands us, through the Scriptures, to do something, we're to do it. When we sense a sinful passion or desire rise up in us, we're to crucify it, and do what God's word commands us to do instead. When we feel within us the inability to love, or be joyful, or have peace, or show patience, or be kind or good, or faithful, or meek or self-controlled, we're to entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to produce those things in us. Remember that it is not by your power that you produce the fruit of the spirit. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit! Stop focusing on your own efforts and submit to the Holy Spirit! Yield yourself to Christ! As you grow in the Lord and follow His will through prayer and Bible study, He will produce the fruit! Glorify Him by becoming more like Him and in so doing we fulfill the mission of this church, “To ignite the world for Christ, one life at a time!” Amen? Amen!

Ripe for the Picking by Pastor Tom Millner

"Ripe for the Picking" by Pastor Tom Millner

John 14:26-27, Galatians 5:6, 13-26

IWe’ve taken a journey over the past few weeks down a road that has a divine destination. We started our journey with the imperative to present ourselves as a living sacrifice which is acceptable unto God, as an act of worship. To not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed through the renewing of our minds so that we might know the good and perfect will of God in our lives. We moved then to learn about God’s mercy and grace as acts of His love. Since He is love and we are called to seek Him first, love is the imperative. We learned how no one can boast about how great he or she is to the kingdom because it is Jesus who has made us whole before God. We learned that the reason we love Him and one another is to build the Body of Christ – His Church, with Jesus’ love as the foundation and cornerstone to the structure. We learned that gifts of the Spirit are not to be trophies for any one’s personal gratification, but rather tools to build His Body in Love. We learned that Jesus is the great equalizer – He died for the sake of everyone, without regard for the world’s view of success or failure.

Here we are today at a place along our journey that some may see as a destination. Here, in the midst of this sparkling new Worship Center with its comforts, convenience, and challenges, we might be tempted to feel as though finally, we’ve made it! But, my friends, I assert to you that this is just a new beginning! This place is not the end, but rather a part of the means by which His work of building His Body will be launched today. This Worship Center is simply one among many of the tools in the Master’s Tool Chest. Remember the value of a π inch drill? It’s not the drill but the whole you get that renders the drill valuable. Likewise, this Worship Center’s value lies in what it renders in the building of His Kingdom. Let’s look now at some things that power this tool to render the utmost value to His Kingdom!

Jesus stated in John 14: 26-27 that God would send a Counselor to remind us of His promise and to bestow upon us the peace of His presence. A counselor does not control, but rather guides in thinking and understanding around the things that most concern us. A counselor acts as a facilitator of our growth. This particular Counselor is the Holy Spirit who facilitates our spiritual growth and development so that we may more perfectly love God and love others as ourselves. Keep this thought in mind as we move forward today in the 5th chapter of Galatians – God’s Holy Spirit is present in us to facilitate His love – to and for Him toward and between each other.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all the “oughts” and thoughts of “must be” to be acceptable. Because we don’t see ourselves the way God sees us (perfect because of Jesus) we create our own little fantasies of this that or the other that might give us an edge on the righteous meter. To the recipients of Paul’s letter, becoming a Jew before being a proper Christian was one of those marks on the righteous meter that Paul was warning against.

Galatians 5:1-6
God’s mercy and grace are free. They are the products of His love. Because of the mercy of God, we don’t get what we really deserve and because of the grace of God, we are given what we don’t really deserve. Because of His mercy and grace, we are free from the confines of any identity other than one who is made whole by His grace. To believe that we “MUST” be a particular way in order to be made whole by Him is enslavement to a pattern of thinking and behaving that places self interest above His interest. Paul is encouraging the Galatians to stop putting their hopes in the law, but rather in the “spirit of righteousness” – that of Jesus. Verse 6 reminds us that neither religious rituals nor non rituals have any real value. What really counts in the Kingdom is faith expressing itself through love. What does that look like? Faith expressing itself through love! Let’s read further as Paul takes us on this faith journey.

Galatians 5: 7-15
Paul points out that the Gospel of truth (we are saved by grace) is often easily perverted into the thinking that our actions have something to do with it – that kind of thinking can be pervasive (a little yeast). This is the way the world thinks. Paul argues that if that were the case, then he himself would not have been persecuted. But because the GRACE OF THE CROSS is offensive to the whole notion of having to measure up by other standards, he was indeed being persecuted… If only we would understand that all of the things that we would conjure up to measure up are summed up in a single command –“Love your neighbor as yourself,” we would be free to build up, not tear down each other. Instead of living by an arbitrary set of rules, then, live by that which God has given each of us – His Spirit. That’s how we express our faith through love!

Galatians 5:16-26
There’s a tug of war that we can engage in… self-desire or life in His Spirit. Self renders acts that indulge our sinful nature – His Spirit is the opposite. Living by His Spirit produces something. That something is the natural product of His Spirit. Paul calls it the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control are the fruit of His Spirit. Every tree that bears fruit does so for a purpose. To reproduce itself! Within the fruit is the seed that will grow another of its kind. We think of fruit as being for our consumption and enjoyment – and indeed we do enjoy – but the purpose is not about us, it is about perpetuating itself. So it is with the fruit of the Spirit. Though we may enjoy and be refreshed by it, the purpose of this fruit is reproduction of His Spirit in others. Savor the fruit in the knowledge that it is not our own, but His, produced for His purpose.

So, if we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, as our spiritual worship to him, not conforming any longer to the pattern of this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds to live in His will – and if we remind ourselves that it is His grace and mercy that justifies us before God – and that He bestows us with gifts of His Spirit to live in His love with each other so that His Kingdom will be built through His church, of which each of us is a vital organ – living in the faith that gives us freedom to act in love instead of obligation – God produces in us a fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – which are tools used to grow His Kingdom.

If today you are tired of doing it yourself – tired of the journey to your own end – fed up with it not going your way, turn to Him in faith today that His love through His mercy and grace, will carry you to a different place – a place where the fruit of His Spirit may be born in you – to advance His love to each of us..

To view Pastor Tom's sermon online, click here.